The Member of Parliament for North Tongu and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has reiterated calls for plans to reinstate Niger’s ousted president using the military to be aborted.

ECOWAS leaders met in Accra on August 17 and reiterated their commitment to act if diplomatic dialogue fails.

The ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, described appeals to revoke its decision as unwarranted.

During an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, Mr. Ablakwa said, “I will renew the call that we have always made that war, violence, and military intervention is not going to help us in this situation”.

“The position of the NDC caucus in Parliament has not changed…we don’t endorse coups, we want democracy to be entrenched. We must be looking at what is causing these coups, there are issues that ought to be addressed – bad governance, state capture, massive unemployment, and neocolonial entanglement. These matters have to be confronted head-on. If they are not confronted, it thus appears we shall return to the era of coups”.

He raised concerns about the decision taken by ECOWAS suggesting constructive diplomatic dialogue as the key solution to solving the political tension.

“Listening to the ECOWAS chief of defence staff, you are right that the communication is somewhat confusing. Sometimes you get the impression they are ready, they are going all out, they’re descending into Niger. Other times, like after today’s meeting, they’re putting together their logistics”.

He stressed, “It is our view that the heads of state should have deepened the diplomacy dialogue, but they seem to have rushed. Everybody is saying that don’t use military intervention, it’s not a simple matter. The real solution lies in diplomacy and constructive dialogue. We will urge ECOWAS to stop all these confusing signals. We insist that instead of sending our soldiers to a slaughterhouse, where there will be a massacre as all the pundits have predicted, let us go for what our constitution enjoins us by perceiving a peaceful resolution”.