Niger: Why we are talking to Libya, Algeria – Kingibe
President Bola Tinubu’s special envoy to Libya and Algeria, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, has said the Nigerian government decided to hold talks with the two Afro-Arabian countries to stimulate the solidarity required to restore peace in Niger.
Nigerien soldiers, led by Colonel Major Amadou Adramane, had seized the reign of power while he detained the country’s leader President Mohammad Bazoum. Nigeria and some ECOWAS leaders have vowed military intervention against the coup plotters, after one-week ultimatum given them to restore constitutional government lapses.
Kingibe said, “Of course, this kind of situation requires solidarity. It requires coordination with all parties that are relevant to the situation.
“In that regard, Libya and Algeria are also very important neighbours of Niger. So, my mission is to go there with a message from President Tinubu; to brief them on the ECOWAS position and solicit solidarity and cooperation.”
He expressed optimism that the talks would avert a possible military intervention.
“We hope to find a diplomatic solution. Nobody wants to go to war, especially with neighbourly, brotherly people across the border with whom we share a common language, culture and religion,” he said.
READ: Nigerien soldiers shun Tinubu’s coup warning, ‘arrest’ president
At the same time, President Tinubu has dispatched former military head of state, Abdusalami Abubakar to Niger to discuss with the junta.
In the entourage are equally Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray.
