President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has proposed a nine-month transition time for the Niger junta to return the country to civilian administration.
Mr Tinubu said Niger might follow in the footsteps of former Nigerian military ruler Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, who returned the country to democratic governance in 1999 after serving as a junta leader for nine months.
Mr Tinubu, the current head of the West African bloc ECOWAS, said Nigeria’s example had “proved very successful, ushering the country into a new era of democratic governance.”
“The president sees no reason why such cannot be replicated in Niger, if Niger’s military authorities are sincere,” the statement from the presidency said.
The Niger junta announced a three-year transition period, which ECOWAS rejected.
Mr Tinubu said as he hosted Islamic leaders who had traveled to Niger for meetings with the junta on two separate occasions.
“I must thank you for your several visits to Niger Republic but you will still have to go back. My fear has been confirmed in Gabon that copycats will start doing the same thing until it is stopped,” he said.
He said Ecowas would not lift sanctions imposed on Niger until the junta made “positive adjustments”.
