THE Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) hit out today at a proposal by Niger’s new ruling group for a three-year transition to democratic rule, branding it “a provocation.”

Ecowas commissioner for peace and security Abdel-Fatau Musah reiterated the regional bloc’s rejection of the proposal made by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, who heads Niger’s new government.

Gen Tchiani and other military officers took power when they toppled president Mohamed Bazoum in July, going on to appoint a new team of ministers. 

Mr Bazoum has been kept in detention since his overthrow.

Mr Musah said the door for diplomacy with Niger’s new rulers remained open, but the bloc refused to engage in drawn-out talks that would lead nowhere.

He said: “It is the belief among the Ecowas heads of state and also the commission that the coup in Niger is one coup too many for the region and if we allow it, then we are going to have a domino effect in the region and we are determined to stop it.”

While direct talks and backchannel negotiations are ongoing, he warned that the door to diplomacy would not remain open indefinitely.

“We are not going to engage in long, drawn out haggling with these military officers,” Mr Musah said.

“We went down that route in Mali, in Burkina Faso and elsewhere and we are getting nowhere.”

The region has experienced a number of military uprisings against rulers seen as subservient to Western interests, including two each in Mali and Burkina Faso, since 2020.

The bloc has imposed severe economic and travel sanctions on Niger and threatened to use military force if Mr Bazoum is not reinstated, but no action has been has taken so far.

Earlier this week, the African Union said it opposed the use of force against Niger by Ecowas or any other body, although it did suspend Niger’s membership of the continent-wide organisation.