The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament has urged the Heads of State and Government in the region to lift the sanctions imposed on the Niger Republic.
The regional body made the call after the opening session of the parliament on Wednesday.
In July, the Head of States and governments of ECOWAS imposed sanctions on the Niger Republic to protest the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum by military officers led by erstwhile Presidential Guard Commander, General Abdourahamane Tchiani.
Addressing journalists, the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, declared that states in Nigeria, about seven of them bordering Niger Republic, are at the receiving end of the sanctions.
Ndume said: “Children and women have been exposed to untold hardship. No meaningful progress has been made in resolving this issue.
“We are appealing to ECOWAS states to lift the sanction and open the closed border between Niger and Nigeria because it is the poor that are suffering. Let me say this is a collective decision by concerned citizens.
“This Press conference is simply an appeal to the ECOWAS Heads of State to consider the humanitarian situation and resolve the political impasse in Niger.”