The Nigeria Senate has clarified that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not request military intervention in Niger, contrary to news making the rounds.
The Senate disclosed this on Saturday after a four-hour closed-door meeting on the crisis rocking Niger, a West African country.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio stressed that President Tinubu never requested approval for Nigeria to go to war with the Niger Republic, stating that the letter was misrepresented in the media.
According to him, President Tinubu requested approval to implement ECOWAS resolutions as the Chairman of ECOWAS.
He said: “By the correspondence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the Commander-in-Chief, he has not sought for the approval of the parliament or of Senate to go to war as erroneously suggested in some quarters, rather Mr President and Commander-in-Chief had expressed, and I quote, in which to respectfully solicited support in the successful implementation of the ECOWAS resolutions in the said communications.”
“The leadership of the Senate is mandated to further engage with the President and Commander-in-Chief on behalf of the entire Senate to ensure how best to resolve the crisis”.
The resolution of the upper legislative chamber followed an executive communication, which President Tinubu sought for the implementation of the resolution of ECOWAS on the political situation in Niger Republic.
Meanwhile, the red chamber told Tinubu to toe the path of diplomatic engagement in the ongoing suspension of democracy in the neighbouring Niger Republic.