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| ECOWAS Consultative Meeting on Niger starts Monday
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Dakar, Senegal (PANA) -
The ECOWAS Consultative Meeting of major Nigerien stakeh
olders, aimed at re-establishing political
dialogue to create national consensus on the way forward for the West African na
tion, will now start in Abuja, Nigeria, Monday,
PANA reported Wednesday, quoting sources close to the stakeholders.
The meeting was originally scheduled to commence in the Nigerian capital 30 Oct,
but was postponed indefinitely for undisclosed
reasons.
Some 50 people, comprising 15 government representatives and 35 others from the
opposition and civil society organisations, are
expected to attend the talks, to be presided over by the ECOWAS Mediator for Nig
er, retired Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar of Nigeria.
ECOWAS Chairman, President Umaru Yar'Adua of Nigeria, 20 Oct. announced the susp
ension of Niger from the 15-member bloc, after
Nigerien authorities rejected the request to postpone the parliamentary election
s held on the same day.
Before the suspension, ECOWAS leaders had slammed other sanctions on Niger, wher
e President Mamadou Tandja has changed the
constitution to pave the way for him to run for a third term.
Under the earlier sanctions, the 15-member ECOWAS will not support candidates pr
esented by Niger for elective posts in the international
organisations; and will also not organise the bloc's meetings in the country.
ECOWAS has determined that President Tandja's decision to organise a referendum
4 Aug. 2009 was ''against the letter and spirit of the
Constitution of Niger and a violation of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on De
mocracy and Good Governance''.
After initially shrugging off the ECOWAS sanctions, Nigerien authorities have no
w launched efforts to get the sanctions lifted and get their country
back into the ECOWAS fold.
On Tuesday, Nigerien Prime Minister Ali Badjo Gamatie visited President Yar'Adua
in Abuja in connection with the situation in Niger as well as
the sanctions.
At the meeting, which was also attended by Gen. Abubakar, President Yar'Adua ple
dged that his administration would continue to work with Niger
and the ECOWAS Mediator to ensure a speedy resolution of the political crisis in
Niger.
Abubakar later said that with the meeting, held behind closed doors, ''we are ma
king a 'headway'' in efforts to resolve the crisis.
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| Dakar - 04/11/2009 |
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