Senator Abdul Ningi of Bauchi Central says the Senate told President Bola Tinubu to rule out war as part of moves to restore democracy in the Niger Republic.
Senator Ningi, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, said there must be a joint sitting of the National Assembly before the Nigerian Armed Forces could be deployed for war anywhere.
“He has the right to ask (for permission) but the Constitution has stipulated some conditions. For him to ask the Nigerian Armed Forces to go into a war there needs to be a joint sitting, not only the Senate but the National Assembly.
“He sent us a letter enumerating what is happening in ECOWAS and we read it and we told him point blank that war is off the table, deal with other issues.”
He, however, said that the Senators commended the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) for their efforts in resolving the political crisis in Niger Republic.
“We even commended him. We said a coup is not something anyone will negotiate or we are comfortable with. There is nothing under or above the table that should attract a coup,” Senator Ningi noted.
Senator Ningi is the Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, who had earlier rejected the option of military intervention in the Niger Republic.
According to the lawmaker, the history of the relationship between Nigeria and Niger dates back centuries ago, insisting that both countries are almost the same if not for the map designed by the colonialists.
He said the country has no better ally on the continent than Niger. The usage of the naira as a legal tender in the Niger Republic is a testament to how close both countries are, the lawmaker said.
Senator Ningi maintained that there are other ways to deal with the coup plotters other than using force.
Meanwhile, following its extraordinary summit in Abuja on Thursday, ECOWAS ordered the deployment of the bloc’s standby force to restore constitutional order in the West African nation.
This was one of the resolutions of the West African bloc which also includes upholding all measures and principles agreed upon by the extraordinary summit held on Niger on July 30th, 2023.
While calling on the African Union to endorse all the decisions taken by the ECOWAS authority on the situation in Niger, the West African bloc warned member states whose actions are directly or indirectly hindering the peaceful resolution of the crisis about the consequences of their actions.