Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, said this during a briefing at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was directed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday to implement a set of new financial sanctions against the Niger Republic’s junta as well as their associates.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, said this during a briefing at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

He said: “Following the expiration of the deadline of the ultimatum and standing on the pre-existing consensus position of financial sanctions meted out on the military junta in Niger Republic by the bloc of ECOWAS Heads of State, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered an additional slew of financial sanctions, through the CBN, on entities and individuals related to or involved with the military junta in Niger Republic.”

The President’s spokesman maintained that they are being instituted under the authority of the ECOWAS.

Nigeria has already cut off electricity transmission to its northern neighbours to pressurise the military to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

Ngelale added: “Concerning the ultimatum given to the military Junta in the Niger Republic, it is not a Nigerian mandate.

“The Office of President Tinubu, who is the chairman of ECOWAS, seeks to emphasise this point due to certain domestic and international media coverage tending toward personalisation of the ECOWAS sub-regional position to his person and to our nation individually.

“It is because of this that Mr. President has deemed it necessary to state unequivocally that the mandate and ultimatum were issued by ECOWAS.

“President Tinubu wishes to emphasise that the response of ECOWAS to the military coup in Niger has been and will remain devoid of ethnic and religious sentiments and considerations.

“The regional bloc is made up of all sub-regional ethnic groups, religious groups, and all other forms of human diversity. 

“The response of ECOWAS, therefore, represents all of these groups, and not any of these groups individually.”

Ngelale stressed that tomorrow’s extraordinary summit of ECOWAS will come up with far-reaching decisions on the developments in the Niger Republic.

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