Kwame Jantuah, Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and a private attorney, has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to reject the sending of the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) standby force to Niger, and rather be desirous of an option for negotiations.
According to the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CDS), the standby force may be sent to Niger to restore constitutional order, after a military coup sprung up in the nation.
However, Kwame Jantuah voiced his reservations about the deployment and questioned the benefits and repercussions for Ghana. He emphasized how the crisis was having an economic impact, citing the increasing price of onions and the delays in truck deliveries at the border.
Additionally, the Chairman of CPP’s Political Affairs highlighted the necessity for diplomatic solutions and warned against military intervention, stressing the potential repercussions for other nations in the region.
He therefore encouraged President Akufo-Addo to strongly oppose military action and to support dialogue to settle the Niger crisis, without resorting to hostilities. Additionally, he cited Ghana’s history of coups and the consequences of those events, urging a nonviolent course of action to end the problem.
ECOWAS To Enter Niger With Its Own Resources
Abdel-Fatau Musah, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, claimed that the Community is sending its own resources to Niger and that any organization eager to assist, is welcome to do so.
“The request for Chapter VII is often done in order to secure resources and access contributions from the UN coffers. The Heads of State are saying we are going to Niger with our resources. Anybody who wants to help us, fair enough.”
Abdel-Fatau Musah
Mr. Musah made this statement at the 48th Extraordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CDS), which is currently ongoing in Accra. The CDS will be able to plan for potential military involvement in Niger, during the two-day conference.
The authority of the UN Security Council to uphold peace, is outlined in Chapter VII of the UN Charter. It enables the Council to assess if any act of aggression, breach of peace, or threat to peace exists, and to take military and nonmilitary action to reestablish world peace and security.
Since Monday, July 26, the President of the Niger Republic, Mr. Mohamed Bazoum, as well as members of his family and cabinet, have been detained by the military junta in the country. Niger’s military takeover makes it the fifth nation in the West African area to undergo a coup d’état in less than three years, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Guinea Bisau.
The ECOWAS chiefs decided last week to mobilize a backup force for intervention, should the junta seize power. If the ECOWAS Presidents give the go-ahead, the military commanders would be required to, among other things, create a plan of action in Niger.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, assured the group that they would act morally.
The way ahead for ECOWAS, according to General Musa, is not an easy one, but it should make an effort to bring democracy and sovereignty back to the Republic of Niger. “We cannot let the Nigeriens endure suffering,” he declared, adding that; “Our determination is to safeguard the integrity of our states and safeguard ECOWAS nationals.”
Also, Dominic Nitiwul, the Minister of Defense for Ghana, claimed that the conference is intended to reinstate the Community’s constitutional order and to provide a venue for the CDS to submit proposals in response to ECOWAS directions to bring about peace. “Members are united in carrying out directives and measures of ECOWAS for democracy restoration in Niger,” he said.
He also asked the CDS to use the appropriate means to defend their nations and territorial interpretations of their nations, while remaining loyal to their Heads of State and ECOWAS.
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