Abuja, Aug, 6, 2023 – Contrary to some media reports, President Bola Tinubu did not seek approval from the Senate to deploy troops to fight the military junta and restore democracy in Niger Republic.
The Senate made the clarification as part of its resolutions on Saturday while debating on a letter from the president on developments in Niger.
It said that contrary to the apprehension expressed in some quarters, Tinubu did not seek its approval to go to war in that country.
“Rather, Mr President, as the Commander-in-Chief, had expressed a wish to respectively solicit the support of the National Assembly in the successful implementation of ECOWAS resolutions as outlined in the said communication.”
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said that the Senate resolved that ECOWAS should use diplomatic and political means to resolve the crisis rather than deploying the military.
He said other resolutions of the Senate at the plenary were that: “The Senate condemns in totality the military coup that took place recently in the Republic of Niger.
“The Senate commends President Bola Tinubu and other Heads of States and Governments of ECOWAS for their prompt response to the positions taken on the unfortunate development in Nigeria
“The Senate recognises the fact that President Tinubu, by virtue of his correspondence, had not asked for the approval of the parliament or the approval of this Senate to go to war as being erroneously suggested in some quarters.
“The National Assembly told the ECOWAS leadership under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resolve the political situation in Niger and return the country to democratic governance in the nearest future.
“The leadership of the Senate is mandated to further engage with the President and Commander-in-Chief on behalf of the Senate and the National Assembly on how best to resolve the issues in view of the hitherto existing cordial relationships between Nigeriens and Nigerians.
“Finally, the Senate calls on the ECOWAS Parliament to rise to the occasion by equally condemning this coup and also positing solutions towards resolving this impasse as soon as possible.” (GBN)
