On Friday, the Senate received a letter from President Bola Tinubu requesting for its backing in sending troops to Niger Republic.
Before cutting off the nation’s power, he also sought approval from the legislature.
Niger’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, was deposed by his bodyguards.
Tinubu, the President of Nigeria and Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, met with other ECOWAS leaders on Sunday to discuss the best way to restore democracy in Niger.
The leaders of the West African regional bloc convened to discuss sanctioning the military personnel who deposed Bazoum on July 26, 2023.
The President’s letter read, “Political situation in Niger. Following the unfortunate political situation in Niger Republic culminating in the overthrow of its President, ECOWAS under my leadership condemned the coup in its entirety and resolved to seek the return of the democratically elected govt in a bid to restore peace, ECOWAS convened a meeting and came out with a communique.”
Tinubu further sought support for, “Military buildup and deployment of personnel for military intervention to enforce compliance of the military junta in Niger should they remain recalcitrant.
“Closure and monitoring of all land borders with the Niger Republic and reactivating of the border drilling exercise.
“Cutting off Electricity supply to the Niger Republic, mobilising international support for the implementation of the provisions of the ECOWAS communique.”
“Preventing the operation of commercial and special flights into and from Niger Republic; Blockade of goods in transit