ECOWAS Heads of State Meet Thursday after Expiration of Deadline to Niger Junta

•Mali, Bukina Faso pay solidarity visit to coup plotters   

•France suspends flights to Mali, Burkina Faso 

•US sees window of opportunity to end crisis

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja and Chinedu Eze in Lagos

The Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will meet on Thursday in Abuja to ponder the way forward following the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum issued to the military junta in Niger Republic on July 30.

But the military government in Niger ordered the closure of the country’s airspace, citing security reasons, especially an alleged planned invasion by a “foreign power”.

The junta, which had enjoyed massive support from thousands of Nigeriens since the ouster of the democratically elected President Mohammed Bazoun, also received support from fellow military leaders in Mali and Burkina Faso, who paid a solidarity visit to the military leadership in Niamey.

Meanwhile, flights to African destinations and across the continent might take longer time if Burkina Faso and Mali in solidarity with Niger Republic were also to close their airspaces.  Just as Air France announced the suspension of its flight service to Mali and Burkina Faso.

Also, flights to Nigeria from Europe and the United States will  also be affected by longer hours if Mali and Burkina faso  were to join Niger in closing their airspaces. But the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) said that had not affected the cost of flight tickets yet.

The United States said there was still a “window of opportunity” to end Niger’s military coup, using the diplomatic instrument.

A statement issued by ECOWAS said Chairman of the regional bloc, President Bola Tinubu, convened another extraordinary summit of the authority on the political situation in the Republic of Niger.

It said, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has convened another Extraordinary Summit of the Authority on the political situation in the Republic of Niger.

“The Summit will hold in Abuja, on Thursday, August 10, 2023.”

The statement posted on the ECOWAS website (ecowas.int), stated, “The ECOWAS leaders will be considering and discussing the political situation and recent developments in Niger during the summit.”

However, Mali and Burkina Faso concluded plans to send a joint delegation to Niamey, the capital of Niger, on Monday, in a show of solidarity amidst a coup crisis, the Malian army said.

“Burkina Faso and Mali are sending a delegation to Niamey to show the solidarity of the two countries with the brotherly people of Niger,” the army tweeted.

The transitional governments of Burkina Faso and Mali, which were established after the military took power by force in 2020 and 2022, respectively, also declared their support for the Nigerien soldiers who overthrew Bazoum.

The two countries warned that any military intervention in Niger would be considered a declaration of war against them and would lead to the withdrawal of Burkina Faso and Mali from ECOWAS.

ECOWAS, a regional political and economic union of 15 countries located in West Africa, had threatened to restore order in Niger by force.

But Niger’s coup leaders, yesterday, announced the closure of the country’s airspace until further notice. They cited the threat of military intervention from ECOWAS member states.

Int’l Carriers to Spend Longer Flight Time Across Africa

Flights to African destinations and across the continent may now take longer time following the closure of the Nigerien airspace.

Besides, the development in Niger forced Air France to suspend flight service to Mali and Burkina Faso.

Accordingly, flights to Nigeria from Europe and the United States may now take longer hours.

But National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) said the situation had no impact on the cost of flight ticket yet.

The airspace over Sudan and Libya had been closed to commercial aviation, and the addition of Niger meant there was now a block to north-south flights across Africa, stretching around 2,600 miles from western Niger to the Red Sea.

According to Reuters, European carriers on Monday reported disruptions and suspended flights across the African continent after Niger’s junta closed its airspace on Sunday.

Reuters stated that the disruption of flights, occasioned by the closure, added to a band of African airspace facing geopolitical disruptions, including Libya and Sudan, with some flights facing up to 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) in detours.

Reacting to the airspace closure by the Nigerien military authorities, Chairman of Stanbic IBTC, Atedo Peterside, said on his Twitter handle, “Burkina Faso and/or Mali join Niger in declining overflight rights to Nigerian bound aircraft, then inbound and outbound flights from Nigeria to Europe will become very expensive.”

This confirmed the fears that the closure of Niger Republic’s airspace would increase the cost of flights from Nigeria to Europe, which had already doubled after foreign airlines blocked the lower inventory of tickets due to their inability to repatriate revenues from Nigeria.

Currently, economy tickets for most airlines from Nigeria sell at over N1 million for about six hours flight, while business class tickets sell for about N3 million for the similar hours of flights.

But President of NANTA, Susan Akporiaye, said prices had remained the same, though they might change as a result of the crisis in Niger.

Akporiaye said, “We have not had any spike in prices of international flight tickets at the moment. The only issue we have had and are still having is the spike in cost of flights due to the trapped funds; a serious problem, which we have talked about several times and which we have made efforts to solve.

“What is happening at the moment is just flight diversion and that is between the airline and the regulatory body of that country. Many flights, for instance, between UK and South Africa have been diverted or re-routed due to the closure of Niger’s air space.

“For Nigeria, there has been no hike in price. There may be in the coming days or weeks, but at the moment, the price of tickets have remained the same.”

Nevertheless, Air France suspended flights to and from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and Bamako in Mali until August 11, after Niger’s junta closed its airspace.

According to flight tracking service provider, FlightRadar24, “The closure of Niger’s airspace dramatically widens the area over which most commercial flights between Europe and southern Africa cannot fly.”

US Sees Window of Opportunity to End Niger Crisis

The United States government said diplomacy still offered a “window of opportunity” to end Niger’s political crisis. Washington had suspended aids running into millions of dollars to the country pending Bazoum’s reinstatement.

Speaking at a US State Department news conference, yesterday, spokesman, Matthew Miller, said, “The window of opportunity is definitely still open,” adding that the US believed “the junta should step aside and let President Mohamed Bazoum resume his duties,” even as the US remained in contact with the deposed leader.

Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, told BBC that ECOWAS had Washington’s full backing in its approach to the crisis in Niger.

“It’s very important that that constitutional order be restored and right now I think ECOWAS is playing a very important role in moving the country back in that direction,” America’s top diplomat said.

The European Union also said there remained a chance to restore Niger’s democratically elected government.

“The EU still thinks there is some room for mediation until Thursday 10 August,” an EU spokesperson said, referring to Thursday’s ECOWAS meeting.

The situation in the region had compelled France to warn its citizens against travelling to the Sahel region, and for those still there to be cautious due to anti-France sentiment.

“It is essential to limit travel, to stay away from any gatherings and to keep themselves regularly informed of the situation,” a statement from the foreign ministry read.