The head of the Nigerièn military junta, also known as the National Council for the Protection of the Fatherland (CNSP), General Abdourahamane Tiani, has arrived in Lomé, the Togolese capital, this Friday, December 8 for a friendship and working visit. This is his first visit to a full member country of ECOWAS, outside the States of the new Sahel Alliance (AES).
At the head of a large delegation, the Nigerièn leader will discuss with his Togolese counterpart, Faure Gnassingbé, the political situation in Niger, on the eve of a decisive Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State that will look into the political crisis in the country since the coup d’état of July 26.
In November, Togo was designated by the Nigerièn transitional authorities as mediator in negotiations with the international community, notably ECOWAS, which imposed severe sanctions on the country following the overthrow of Mohamed Bazoum.
The military junta has shown a willingness to negotiate terms for a return to democratic leadership in the country, but the conditions proposed have not been accepted by the regional body, which has maintained the sanctions to mount pressure on the junta to push through its (ECOWAS) demands.
Many say the sanctions, which include the closure of borders, the freezing of state assets and public companies, the suspension of the supply of electricity and also commercial transactions with the country, is severely affecting the country’s population.
ECOWAS insists on the release of the former president, Bazoum, which the CNSP categorically rejects. It is in this context that the Nigerien military authorities appealed to Togo to mediate alongside the United States, during a visit to Lomé in November by the deputy head of the CNSP, Lieutenant General Salifou Mody.