El-Rufai Throws Shade At President Tinubu After Failed Ministerial Bid, Warns Against Military Action Against Niger Republic
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Former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has condemned the planned military offensive by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against the military junta in Niger Republic.
El-Rufai in a statement on his social media page said a between ECOWAS and Niger would be a war between brothers.
The chairperson of ECOWAS, President Bola Tinubu on behalf of the regional bloc said they had resolved to use force as a last option if the coup leaders in Niger do not relinquish power to ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
ECOWAS had after a meeting of the bloc’s defence chiefs in Accra, Ghana’s capital city, had last Thursday announced that it had begun the activation of its standby force in Niger.
ECOWAS further revealed that all elements that would go into any military intervention had been worked out and were being refined, including the timing, resources needed and how, where and the day to deploy such force.
El-Rufai one of the three names not yet confirmed by the Nigerian Senate appears to be taking a swipe at President Tinubu with the criticism of the ECOWAS stance.
He tweeted:
“As ECOWAS beats the drums of war, I recall the 1970s rock classic by Dire Straits – ‘Brothers in Arms’, because a war within our subregion is a war between brothers,” el-Rufai tweeted.
“Indeed, the people of Niger Republic are one and the same with those living in Northern Nigeria. Let us bend therefore over backwards to avoid this civil war between brothers.”
El-Rufai’s latest call is in alignment with the Northern Senators Forum (NSF) who warned that deploying Nigerian troops to Niger Republic will hurt seven northern states — Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno — who share borders with Niger Republic.
They advised President Tinubu to exhaust all diplomatic means in resolving the crisis.
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