Ali Ndume, the Senator representing Borno South District at the Senate, has criticized President Bola Tinubu for unilaterally disconnecting Niger’s power supply from Nigeria as part of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sanction on the junta-led country without the prior approval of the Nigerian National Assembly.
The Senate Chief Whip disclosed his disapproval of Tinubu’s decision at the virtual extraordinary meeting of the ECOWAS Parliament to discuss the current political impasse in Niger.
Ndume, who was one of the Nigerian delegates at the virtual meeting, berated the President for ignoring members of the National Assembly, whom he described as representatives.
He posited that Tinubu, who doubles as ECOWAS Chairman, does not have the veto power to close the Niger-Nigeria border or disconnect the country’s electricity, arguing that the Nigerien coup leaders are not the ones that bear the economic brunt of the sanctions, but the common masses.
Ndume said, “The ECOWAS Chairman, President Tinubu, wrote the Nigerian Senate on the planned military intervention in Niger, and the Red Chamber vehemently opposed the use of force. They prefer instead that dialogue be adopted in resolving the impasse.
“President Tinubu has no right to close the Niger-Nigeria border or cut electricity without the approval of the Nigerian National Assembly. It is not the Juntas that are suffering the sanctions, but rather innocent people.”
Recall that earlier this week, MUK TV reported how the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), on the orders of President Tinubu, had disconnected Nigeria’s daily 150 megawatts of power supply to Niger.
Meanwhile, members of the ECOWAS Parliament are divided over measures to address the Niger Republic’s crises.
At the meeting, which was virtually attended by 22 members, some of the parliamentarians were against military intervention as they opted for diplomacy and dialogue, noting that such stringent measures would inflict hardship on the masses.
However, others said military force was necessary in Niger to serve as a deterrent against coups around West Africa.
