SHOW GOODWILL FOR THE LIFTING OF SANCTIONS- SPEAKER TUNIS

The Speaker of Parliament, The Rt. Hon. Sidie Mohamed Tunis has appealed to the military Junta in the Republic of Niger to show goodwill in the face of the current public out-cry for the lifting of sanctions imposed by the Authority of Heads of State and Government against the country.
He made the appeal while receiving a delegation of the Africa Without Borders, led by Lirwana Abdulrahamani, who paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja and used the opportunity to convey the plight of the people of that country following the sanctions.
The delegation stated that it was deeply concerned by the suffering precipitated by the sanctions on West Africans living in Niger, which informed its decision to launch an advocacy for the partial or complete lifting of the sanctions imposed on the country following the coup of 26 July,2023, in order to alleviate the sufferings of the people.
It said that Parliament, being representatives of the people of West Africa, is best positioned to advocate for the lifting of the sanctions which is strangulating the citizens of West Africa in that country, describing it as excessive.
However, Speaker Tunis told the delegation that on the heels of the coup d’etat in Niger, the Parliament took a citizen’s diplomacy approach by promptly constituting an Ad-hoc Committee mandated to pursue solutions to issues that border on the citizens’ welfare whilst seeking to find out a lasting political solution to the unconstitutional take-over of power in the Republic.
The Speaker seized the opportunity to urge the Niger Junta to display readiness to dialogue with relevant parties in their quest to ameliorate the sufferings of the people of Niger. He reiterated the position of regional leaders that sanctions would be lifted if the Junta would release former President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been detained since the coup. He added that it would enable the leadership of Parliament to champion the convening of an immediate emergency summit of the Authority that will focus on pursuing the relief of sanctions on the Niger Junta.