President Muhammadu Buhari has given an assurance that Nigeria will give robust support to Republic of Niger, which will hold its Presidential and National Assembly elections on Sunday.
The president’s spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, said that Buhari gave the assurance on Tuesday in Abuja when he received former Vice-President Namadi Sambo, who heads the ECOWAS Election Mission to the Republic of Niger.
Buhari applauded President Mahamadou Issoufou for not attempting to tamper with the constitution of his country and elongate his stay in power, after serving for the maximum two terms.
“I come from Daura, few kilometres to Republic of Niger; so I should know a bit about that country.
“The president is quite decent, and we are regularly in touch. He is sticking to the maximum terms prescribed by the constitution of his country.
“Also, we share more than 1,400 kilometres of border with that country, which can only be effectively supervised by God. I will speak with the president and offer his country our support.
“We need to do all we can to help stabilise the Sahel region, which is also in our own interest,” he added.
In his remarks, Sambo congratulated Buhari for the successful return of the schoolboys that were abducted from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, in Katsina State, and also for his 78th birthday last week.
He pledged that ECOWAS would ensure peaceful and fair elections in Republic of Niger, in spite of current political, legal and security issues, adding that meetings were already being held with stakeholders.
