Vice President Joe Biden of the United States has praised President Bola Tinubu for his work defending democracy and the rule of law in the Niger Republic.
The Nigerien military, led by Amadou Abdramane, overthrew the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.
According to the military command, the nation’s constitution was revoked, all institutions were put on hold, and the borders were sealed.
Tinubu promptly denounced the coup and slapped sanctions on the new government in his capacity as chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a subregional organization to which the Niger Republic belongs.
The former military head of state Abdulsalami Abubakar led one of the delegations sent by ECOWAS to engage with the country’s military junta.
The US president thanked Tinubu for upholding the rule of law in Niger and commended his national economic policies in Nigeria in a statement issued by the White House on the second day of the G20 conference in India.
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The American president continued by saying that the country was committed to bolstering its long-standing connection with Nigeria.
Biden acknowledged the steps taken by Tinubu’s administration “to reform Nigeria’s economy”.
He also thanked the Nigerian president for his “strong leadership” as the chair of ECOWAS, towards defending democracy and preserving the rule of law in Niger and the broader region.
“Nigeria’s invitation to the G20 Summit is a recognition of Nigeria’s important global role as Africa’s largest democracy and economy Republic amid military takeover,” Biden said.
On August 26, in a meeting with Molly Phee, US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Tinubu revealed that the crisis in Niger is detrimental to the economic reforms in Nigeria.
The president maintained that although he is holding ECOWAS from military intervention in Niger Republic, defending democracy in the region is sacrosanct, adding that the “consensus is that we will not allow anyone to insincerely buy time.”
“We are deep in our attempts to peacefully settle the issue in Niger by leveraging on our diplomatic tools. I continue to hold ECOWAS back, despite its readiness for all options, in order to exhaust all other remedial mechanisms,” Tinubu said.
“War is not ideal for my economic reforms, nor for the region, but the defence of democracy is sacrosanct.”