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Tag: niger

  • Coup: Junta warns ECOWAS leaders against sending military troops to Niger, says we’ll defend our land

    Coup: Junta warns ECOWAS leaders against sending military troops to Niger, says we’ll defend our land

    The military junta in Niger has warned West African leaders meeting in Abuja against military intervention in the country’s ongoing coup.

    West African leaders are meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Sunday, July 30, for an emergency summit on Niger, where a military coup took place earlier this week.

    The heads of state of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) could suspend Niger from its institutions, cut off the country from the regional central bank and financial market, and close borders. France and the EU have already suspended financial aid and security cooperation with Niger. The US says it will follow suit.

    General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the head of the powerful presidential guard, declared himself the leader of Niger on Friday as the country’s elected president Mohamed Bazoum has been held by the military for four days.

    “ECOWAS and the international community would do everything to defend democracy and ensure democratic governance continues to take firm root in the region,” the president of Nigeria and ECOWAS chairman, Bola Tinubu, said in a statement on Friday.

    In a televised statement on Saturday night, July 29, Niger’s military leaders warned against any such military intervention by ECOWAS saying soldiers are ready to defend their homeland.

    “The objective of the (ECOWAS) meeting is to approve a plan of aggression against Niger through an imminent military intervention in Niamey in collaboration with other African countries that are non-members of ECOWAS, and certain Western countries,” junta spokesperson Colonel Amadou Abdramane said.

    “We want to once more remind ECOWAS or any other adventurer, of our firm determination to defend our homeland,” he added.

    The junta issued another statement calling on citizens in the capital Niamey to come out into the streets Sunday from 7 a.m. local time (8 a.m. CET) and demonstrate against ECOWAS to show support for the new military leadership.

    Niger is among the world’s poorest countries and receives nearly $2 billion (€1.8 billion) a year in official development assistance, according to the World Bank.

  • General Tchiani declares himself head of Niger’s transitional government

    General Tchiani declares himself head of Niger’s transitional government

    Abdourahmane Tchiani, head of Niger’s presidential guard, has named himself head of a transitional government in the West African country, two days after his unit overthrew democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.

    He made the announcement on Friday on state-run television, saying he was the “president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland”.

    The 62-year-old general also said the intervention had been necessary to avoid “the gradual and inevitable demise” of the country.

    There was no mention of a timeline for return to civilian leadership.

    Tchiani who was drafted to lead the elite unit in 2015, is from Niger’s western region of Tillaberi, a main recruitment area for the army. He remains a close ally of former President Mahamadou Issoufou – the politician who led the country until 2021.

    The general reportedly led the resistance to a thwarted coup attempt in March 2021, when a military unit tried to seize the presidential palace days before Bazoum, who had just been elected, was due to be sworn in.

    On Wednesday, Tchiani’s unit detained Bazoum in the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey, provoking a flurry of condemnation from leaders within Africa and beyond.

    Colonel Amadou Abdramane, spokesperson of the Nigerien army, had said on state TV on Wednesday that security forces had decided to “put an end to the regime that you know due to the deteriorating security situation and bad governance”.

    Abdramane said Niger’s borders are closed, a nationwide curfew declared, and all institutions of the republic are suspended. The soldiers warned against any foreign intervention, adding that they will respect Bazoum’s wellbeing.

    Hours later, a defiant Bazoum had said the country’s “hard-won gains” in establishing democracy would be protected.

    “All Nigeriens who love democracy and freedom would want this,” he said early on Thursday on the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

    The coup is the fifth successful one in the landlocked country since it gained independence from France.

    But it was also the fifth – after two apiece in Burkina Faso and Mali – in West Africa in three years, resurrecting the moniker “coup belt” for the region amid fears of implications for the security of the greater Sahel, one of the world’s most unstable areas in recent years.

    Source: AL JAZEERA

  • Mutinous Soldiers claim to have overthrown Niger’s president

    Mutinous Soldiers claim to have overthrown Niger’s president

    Mutinous soldiers claimed to have overthrown Niger’s democratically elected president.

    The soldiers said all institutions had been suspended and security forces were managing the situation. The mutineers urged external partners not to interfere.

    The announcement came after a day of uncertainty as members of Niger’s presidential guard surrounded the presidential palace and detained President Mohamed Bazoum. There was no immediate indication of whether the mutiny was supported by other parts of the military. It was unclear where the president was at the time of the announcement or if he had resigned.

    “This is as a result of the continuing degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance,” air force Col. Major Amadou Abdramane said on the video. Seated at a table in front of nine other officers, he said aerial and land borders were closed and a curfew was imposed until the situation stabilised.

    The group, which is calling itself National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, said it remained committed to its engagements with the international and national community.

    Earlier Wednesday, a tweet from the account of Niger’s presidency reported that members of the elite guard unit engaged in an “anti-Republican demonstration” and unsuccessfully tried to obtain support from other security forces. It said Bazoum and his family were doing well but that Niger’s army and national guard “are ready to attack” if those involved in the action did not back down.

    The commissions of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States described the events as an effort to unseat Bazoum, who was elected president two years ago in the nation’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960.

    Before the announcement, hundreds of people took to the streets of the capital, Niamey, and chanted “No coup d’etat” while marching in support of the president. Multiple rounds of gunfire that appeared to come from the presidential palace dispersed the demonstrators and sent people scrambling for cover.

    The international community strongly condemned the attempted seizure of power.

  • Bazoum makes defiant vow to save democracy after coup

    Bazoum makes defiant vow to save democracy after coup

    Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum took to social media on Thursday with a defiant vow to protect “hard-won” democratic gains a day after he was toppled in a military coup.

    The country’s foreign minister Hassoumi Massoudou also issued a rallying cry on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, for “all democrats and patriots” to make the coup fail.

    Their statements followed a late-night address on Wednesday by soldiers on national television announcing that Bazoum had been removed from power and all republic institutions suspended, marking the seventh coup in West and Central Africa since 2020.

    Earlier on Wednesday members of the presidential guard had cut off the presidential palace in the capital Niamey and blocked Bazoum inside.

    This sparked regional and international concern about instability in a country that is a pivotal ally for Western powers helping fight an insurgency in the Sahel region.

    Bazoum was still being held inside the presidential palace on Thursday morning, Massoudou said in an interview with French broadcaster France 24. The minister’s whereabouts were unclear.

    Niamey was quiet on Thursday morning as citizens awoke to closed borders and a nationwide curfew imposed by the military.

    Several Bazoum supporters had gathered in the city as events unfolded on Wednesday, voicing their opposition to a change of power, a Reuters reporter said. They were later dispersed.

    It is not yet clear who has taken command. General Omar Tchiani heads the presidential guard, but the televised statement was read by a member of the air force named Colonel Amadou Abdramane.

    Seated in an office rather than in the television studio and flanked by nine other officers in fatigues, Abdramane said defence and security forces had acted in response to deteriorating security and bad governance.

    Land-locked Niger, a former French colony, is one of several West African states battling jihadist militants that have waged a violent insurgency across the region over the past decade.

    Frustrations over state failures to prevent violent attacks on towns and villages partly spurred two coups in Mali and two in Burkina Faso since 2020.

    Niger’s role had become increasingly important for Western powers helping fight the jihadists since relations with Burkina Faso and Mali’s military governments soured, prompting foreign troop withdrawals.

  • U.S. Secretary, Blinken calls for immediate release of Bazoum

    U.S. Secretary, Blinken calls for immediate release of Bazoum

    U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called for the immediate release of Niger President Mohamed Bazoum.

    Bazoum has been removed from power, according to a group of soldiers who appeared on the West African nation’s national television late on Wednesday, hours after the president was held in the presidential palace.

    Blinken told a news conference in the New Zealand capital Wellington that“whether this constitutes a coup technically or not, I can’t say, that’s for the lawyers to say.

    “however, what it clearly constitutes is an effort to seize power by force and to disrupt the constitution.’’

    Blinken, therefore, called for Bazoum’s immediate release.

  • Bazoum’s govt has been ousted – Niger soldiers declare

    Bazoum’s govt has been ousted – Niger soldiers declare

    A group of soldiers who appeared on the West African nation’s national television late on Wednesday, hours after the President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum was held in the presidential palace says his government has been ousted from power.

    Reading from a statement, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, seated and flanked by nine other officers, said defence and security forces had decided: “Put an end to the regime that you know due to the deteriorating security situation and bad governance.”

    Abdramane said Niger’s borders are closed, a nationwide curfew declared, and all institutions of the republic are suspended.

    The soldiers warned against any foreign intervention, adding that they will respect Bazoum’s well-being.

    The military takeover, which marks the seventh coup in the West and Central Africa region since 2020, could further complicate Western efforts to help countries in the Sahel region fight a jihadist insurgency that has spread from Mali over the past decade.

    Land-locked Niger, a former French colony, has become a pivotal ally for Western powers seeking to help fight the insurgencies, but they are facing growing acrimony from the new juntas in charge in Mali and Burkina Faso.

    Niger is also a key ally of the European Union in the fight against irregular migration from sub-Saharan Africa.

    France moved troops to Niger from Mali last year after its relations with interim authorities there soured.

    It has also withdrawn special forces from Burkina Faso amid similar tensions.

    Bazoum’s election was the first democratic transition of power in a state that has witnessed four military coups since independence from France in 1960.

    The United States says it has spent around $500 million since 2012 to help Niger boost its security.

    Germany announced in April that it would take part in a three-year European military mission aimed at improving the country’s military.

    “Bazoum has been the West’s only hope in the Sahel region.

    “France, the U.S. and the EU have spent much of their resources in the region to bolster Niger and its security forces,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme for Germany’s Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung think-tank.

    He said a coup would create an opportunity for Russia and other actors to spread their influence in Niger.

    Early on Wednesday presidential guards, headed by General Omar Tchiani, took over the presidency, prompting regional leaders to organise a swift mediation mission to try to prevent a coup.

    Frustrations over state failures to prevent violent attacks on towns and villages have partly spurred two coups in Mali and two in Burkina Faso since 2020.

    A junta also snatched power in Guinea in 2021, contributing to instability in a region that had begun to shed its reputation as a “coup belt”.

    There was a thwarted coup attempt in Niger in March 2021, when a military unit tried to seize the presidential palace days before the recently elected Bazoum was due to be sworn in.

    The African Union and West African regional bloc ECOWAS earlier on Wednesday condemned what they called an attempted coup d’etat.

    The president of neighbouring Benin, Patrice Talon, flew into Niger on Wednesday afternoon to assess the situation after meeting with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu who is also the ECOWAS Chairman.

    “All means will be used, if necessary, to restore constitutional order in Niger, but the ideal would be for everything to be done in peace and harmony,” Talon told reporters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

    The United States called for Bazoum’s release, while the European Union, United Nations, France, and others condemned the uprising and said they were following the events with concern.

    U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who spoke with Bazoum on Wednesday when he was being held in the presidential palace, said the U.S. economic and security partnership with Niger depended on the continuation of democratic governance.

  • Anthrax: MACBAN urges pastoralists to avoid Niger, Burkina Faso borders

    Anthrax: MACBAN urges pastoralists to avoid Niger, Burkina Faso borders

    The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), has urged herders to avoid taking their animals to the Niger Republic and Burkina Faso borders in their quest for green pasture in order to curtail the spread of anthrax disease.

    The National President of the association, Baba Ngelzarma, said
    that since Ghana, where the first case of the anthrax disease was recorded earlier in the year, shares a boundary with Burkina Faso, it would not be difficult for it to get to Niger Republic, which shares a boundary with Yobe State.

    According to him, “You know Yobe shares borders with Niger Republic. We hereby call on the attention of all states that are sharing borders with Niger Republic to take proactive measures so that we don’t cause a crisis.

    “The first case of the disease occurred in Ghana. Burkina Faso shares borders with Ghana and also with Niger. With the movements of pastoralists, if this thing goes to one country like Burkina Faso, it can easily come into Nigeria.

    “We have already spoken to our branches in those states to draw their attention to their state government to take immediate proactive measures to forestall any emergency.”

    On Saturday, cases of the disease were recorded in two communities in Plateau State, causing some residents in Benue to panic.

    The state government disclosed this in a statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere, and made available to journalists.

    Ngelzarma, in an interview with the punch on Sunday, said the association was taking all necessary measures to curtail the spread of the disease in the country, adding that herders must take precautions to make sure they do not go across borders indiscriminately for their grazing needs.

    He said, “We call on all our branches in the 36 states to be on alert. We have also organised sensitisation programmes for our members on how to detect this disease.

    “We are speaking to our members in Benue to safeguard their borders as we have learnt that the disease is in Plateau. We will not take any chances. Anthrax is a deadly disease.

    “The FCT has taken measures to procure vaccination against the disease occurrence in the FCT. The Yobe State government has also released some money to get some vaccination.”

  • Gov Bago sacks revenue contractors in Niger

    Gov Bago sacks revenue contractors in Niger

    Gov. Umaru Bago of Niger has directed the immediate sack of all revenue consultants and agents contracted by various Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDA’s) in the state.

    This is contained in a statement by Alhaji Abubakar Usman, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) in Minna on Thursday.

    He said the disengagement is aimed at ensuring transparency, accountability and efficiency in revenue enforcement and collection in the state.

    ” The measure is part of the broader efforts by the present administration to ensure a more organised and accountable revenue generation system that will foster sustainable economic growth in the state,” Bago said.

    The governor directed the affected organisations to return official vehicles and relevant documents in their possession to the permanent secretary or the most senior director in the respective MDAs with immediate effect,

  • Why electricity consumers must pay their bills promptly – AEDC

    Why electricity consumers must pay their bills promptly – AEDC

    The Niger Region, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) says, electricity consumers in the area must pay their bills promptly to enable the company improve energy supply to serve them better.

    Mr Adamu Mohammed, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of AEDC, Niger region, comprising of Minna, Bosso, Bida and Kontagora, made the appeal in Minna on Friday, during an interview with NAN.

    “You see, many of the electricity consumers see electricity as a privilege, but it is not so because we have gone fully commercial.

    “We have been using the media to sensitise the public on why they must pay their electricity bills promptly to enable us improve energy supply and serve them better.

    “The AEDC purchases the energy it distributes to consumers in Niger region at the rate of₦1.5 billion per month.

    “Right now power supply has improved, but our average collection per month remains at ₦400 million,” he said.

    Mohammed who decried the situation said that it was a bad signal for the company as no business would survive under the current condition.

    He noted that there were challenges in the energy value chain, starting from generation, transmission and distribution, adding that AEDC was doing everything to ensure improved power supply in the area.

    Mohammed said that in 2022, the company spent over ₦500 million to change and rehabilitate some equipment to improve power supply.

    The PRO said that when electricity consumers pay their bills promptly, it would enable the company to continue to improve power supply to boost socioeconomic activities.

    He stressed the need for the electricity consumers to purchase the pre-paid metres, to prevent over billing or under-billing against the company.

    “The direct billing (estimated billing) is always characterised with over-billing or under-billing, resulting in face-off between the customer and the company.

    “Anywhere we are dealing with the customers directly, it is either the customer is cheating the company or the company is cheating the customer,” he said.

    Mohammed said that there was an ongoing Metre Access Provider (MAP) exercise, to ensure that electricity consumers purchase their pre-paid metres and reimbursed through Energy Token by the AEDC.

    “Right now the AEDC has pre-paid metres available for sale now in Niger region, so we want customers to come and buy their metres.

    “Federal Government has given the AEDC 10 years to reimburse electricity consumers who purchased their pre-paid metres.

    “Infact the AEDC has started paying back customers who purchased their own pre-paid metres through Energy Token,” he said.

    He advised the public to report any electricity fault or complaint to any AEDC office near them for better service delivery.

    The PRO also called on the public to help the company in securing electricity equipment near them, by reporting vandals to the security agencies or any AEDC office near them.

    Also speaking, Alhaji Haruna Aliyu, a resident of Minna said that recently power supply had improved, but for paucity of funds by consumers to pay.

    Aliyu blamed the situation on the current economic downturn being experienced in the country.

  • Nigeria wins U-21 Women’s Volleyball Championship

    Nigeria wins U-21 Women’s Volleyball Championship

    Nigeria has won the 2023 African U-21 Nations Women’s Volleyball Championship Zone 3 in Niamey, Niger Republic.

    Nigeria defeated Ghana 3:0 (25-10 25-15 25-10) in the finals on Sunday night to clinch the title.

    The girls had earlier eased past local rivals, Ghana in their first match of the tournament with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-8) win.

    They continued their winning run in their second match against hosts Niger, winning 3-0 (25-4, 25-11, 25-4).

    The team also swept aside Benin Republic with a dominant display in their third match, claiming a 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-9) win to secure a rematch against Ghana in the final.

    Speaking after the match, Coach Rakiya Mohammed thanked God for the victory.

    “We bless God because this is the first time Nigeria is clinching trophy at the underage level. I feel so happy.

    “The Ghanaians came all out but the girls proved their worth and we have now qualified for the world championship in Thailand”.

    The team is expected to return to Nigeria later today.