Niger’s strongman announces national consultation for seamless transition

General Abdourahamane Tiani, the leader of the junta-led power in Niger, announced Sunday plans to stage a national summit to chart out a roadmap for a transition in the West African country after deposing elected and Wes-backed leader Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.
“The National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland is committed to convening an inclusive National Forum to assess the country’s situation, which has arisen from the poor governance of past regimes,” Tiani said in an address to the nation on the eve of the independence day.
“The forum will propose the reforms needed for the future, with a roadmap for transition and a strategic program of actions to rebuild the State,” he added. “This forum will soon be convened, and a strategic governance framework for the transition has been defined, along with precise missions for the members of the government, which we will make public this week.”
The announcement came a few days after the regional organization, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on December 10 at its 64th extraordinary Summit of Heads of States stepped up pressure on Tiani to announce a short period transition and to free Bazoum.
Tiani in August announced a three-year transition but the proposal quickly attracted the wrath of the regional bloc since the coup squeezed the country financially, economically and diplomatically.