The Arewa Consultative Discussion board has lauded President Bola Tinubu for authorising the current go to to the Republic of Niger by a high-ranking Nigerian navy delegation led by the Chief of Defence Workers, Common Christopher Musa.
That is contained in an announcement launched on Sunday in Kaduna by the Nationwide Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Prof . Tanko Muhammad-Baba.
In line with the ACF, the go to signifies a optimistic shift within the relationship between Nigeria and Niger, which had been strained over the previous yr.
“The discussion board views this diplomatic engagement as a vital step in direction of restoring the traditionally shut and heat ties between the 2 West African neighbours.
‘The ACF recollects the strain that arose following the navy coup in Niger in July 2023,” the ACF mentioned.
In line with the assertion, in response, the Financial Neighborhood of West African States suspended Niger’s membership and imposed a sequence of sanctions, with Nigeria enjoying a number one function by closing its borders, imposing financial restrictions, reducing off important provides, and threatening navy intervention.
The ACF mentioned because the state of affairs advanced, each ECOWAS and Nigeria opted for dialogue with the brand new Nigerien navy regime.
“Throughout this era, Niger solid new alliances with different West African nations similar to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea, and withdrew its forces from the Multi-Nationwide Joint Process Pressure combating terrorism in North East Nigeria,” it mentioned.
This, the discussion board recalled, led to an additional deterioration in diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Niger.
The discussion board praised Musa’s daring and patriotic remarks in the course of the go to, describing them as a sign of power within the pursuit of fraternal African solidarity.
The ACF urged the federal government and other people of Niger to let bygones be bygones and work in direction of a renewed partnership with Nigeria.
NAN
