*Says ECOWAS with 400m people will be stagnated if coup stands

The President of Cote d’Ivoire, Alassane Quattara, has described Niger junta as terrorists and kidnappers that must be pushed back to the barracks where they belong else the subregion will remain stagnated.

Quattara who chairs the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) spoke shortly before departing the venue of the meeting of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), on the situation in Niger Republic.

He insisted that the authority must flush out the putschists if they fail to release and reinstate the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum.

He told journalists that action against Niger was not a Nigerian affair as ECOWAS had previously acted in cases where there had been interference with constitutional order among member states.

While noting that the subregional body had sent high-powered delegations to Niger, the military authorities, he said had however continued to hold President Bazoum hostage, a situation he described as terrorism.

He asserted that ECOWAS would not accept coups as the place of the military was the barracks.

Quattara said if they did not allow Bazoum to exercise his mandate, “we will go ahead and push them out.”

He affirmed that this was the position that the ECOWAS had adopted.

Speaking to newsmen, Quattara said: “As you’re aware, this is the second summit in 10 days that we have organized on Niger and this is a critical problem we have to solve. As you’re aware, ECOWAS has taken many decisions in the past, legal and factual about coup d’tars and the community has always condemned coup d’tars and coup d’tars have happened in many countries in the sub-region.

“ECOWAS has intervened in the past in Liberia, Sierra Leone, recently in Gambia, Guinea Bissau and today we have a similar situation in Niger.

“I’d like to say that ECOWAS cannot accept this. This is not a matter of Nigeria against Niger, not at all. The decision that we have made today and I hope it would be implemented immediately is a decision of ECOWAS, all the head of states think that we have tried dialogue with the putschists.

“We have sent delegation, high personalities like former president Abdulsalami Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, Emir of Kano, former governor of CBN, Sanusi my friend and many others personalities in this important country, to talk the people of Niger.

“But they’re keeping President Bazoum as a hostage. I personally consider this as a terrorist act. And we cannot let this continue. We have to act.

“The position of Côte d’Ivore which has been endorsed by all of the Head of states are that we have been able to tell these putschists that their place is in the barracks. They should go to fight the terrorists and not try to kidnap a democratically elected president.

“So we believe that this for the credibility of ECOWAS, all of us are concerned and involved in this decision.

“So I’d like to thank my former president of ECOWAS, President Tom Barlow, he himself is a former general, democratically elected now to serve that we want democracy in our sub-region.

“We do not accept, we will not accept coup d’tats and I think these putschists must go if they don’t let Bazoum out to be able to exercise his mandate. I think we should move ahead and get them out. Bazoum is the democratically elected president. It should be freed, he should be able to exercise it mandate freely.”

Asked if this is ECOWAS position, the Cote D’Ivoiren President, said: “As you can see, I have to leave now, but this is the position most head of states who have intervene, have endorsed. So I want to say I want to insist this is not a Nigerian affair. It’s an affair of ECOWAS, and you know Niger is part of the Monetary Union of West Africa, which I am the chair and this concern Cote d’Ivoire on that account.

“So ECOWAS is even bigger. ECOWAS is nearly 400 million people, 240 million in Nigeria, 140 million in the West African monetary union. So this is 400 million people. If we don’t have democracy, do you think that our countries will be able to move ahead?

“This coup d’etat is not acceptable. We should put an end to it. And I hope it will be unanimously but we’ll put this to an end.”