President Akufo-Addo Should Be Measured; Parliament Has Not Sanctioned Ghana Troops For Niger Fight – Agalga
Ranking Member of the Defence and Interior Committee, James Agalga, has stated that Parliament has not discussed or given approval for Ghana to contribute soldiers for ECOWAS military intervention after a coup in Niger.
“The approval of Parliament has not been sought for Ghana to deploy boots in the Republic of Niger,” he stated.
The MP for Builsa North explained that if there was a need for the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to deploy to any country for intervention, the minister for defence must seek approval from Parliament before undertaking such tasks.
“The minister for defence must be reminded here that he has an obligation to seek parliamentary approval before Ghana can participate in any military intervention on foreign soil,” he added.
He further cautioned President Nana Akufo-Addo to handle the situation with tact due to the delicate nature of the problem.
“President Akufo Addo, who happens to be a key member of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Authority, should be very measured. ECOWAS was very, very quick in issuing out an ultimatum to the military junta in Niger to reinstate the deposed president or face military action, ” he noted in a Joy News interview.
He was of the view that ECOWAS needed to exhaust all diplomatic efforts before issuing an ultimatum to resort to force and military options to restore constitutional rule in Niger.
Further, Mr Agalga said that ECOWAS had compromised itself by threatening military action to reinstate the ousted president of Niger instead of negotiating a peaceful settlement.
He suggested that ECOWAS should address the root cause of the coup, making reference to other military takeovers in West Africa.
He cited other peaceful options explored to restore peace in previous instances; hence the ECOWAS should resort to diplomatic options to address the instability in Niger.
Following the coup in late July, ECOWAS suspended Niger and issued an ultimatum to the coup leaders to restore the ousted president to office.
The ultimatum elapsed on Sunday, and Niger’s junta has refused to receive a delegation of representatives from ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), which was due to arrive in the capital Niamey on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Ghanaian embassy in Niger has disclosed that it is considering the possibility of evacuating its citizens following the instability in the country.
To this effect, officials of the embassy are expected to meet the leadership of the Ghanaian community in Niamey to discuss the possible evacuation exercise.