After months of military rule, the Niger Republic junta on Thursday agreed to the terms and conditions of a transition back to civilian control, according to the chief diplomat from mediator Togo.
Speaking on Niger’s national television, Togo Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said he had reached an agreement “on the content and timing of the transition” with Niger’s junta-appointed Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine and Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangare.
Dussey stressed that he will present the plan to a regional bloc.
“On the content and timing of the transition” with Niger’s junta-appointed prime minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine and foreign minister Bakary Yaou Sangare, we are ready to present the plan… to the mediating heads of state and the ECOWAS Commission,” he said, referring to the Economic Community of West African States.
Meanwhile, the announcement comes a week after the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, set up a mechanism that would review efforts to activate a standby force for counterterrorism operations, especially in areas infested by terrorist groups.
Recall that in July, soldiers led by Abdourahamane Tiani, a general and head of the Presidential Guard, overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, citing “bad governance and worsening security.”
