The United States Special Presidential Envoy & Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Molly Phee, has disclosed that the US President Joe Biden has extended an exclusive invitation to President Bola Tinubu to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City in September for further discussions on political impasse in Niger Republic and other issues.
Phee, who further pledged the US support for the ECOWAS position on Niger Republic, stated that the US administration has high regard for the leadership of the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Tinubu.
The US envoy stated this when she led a delegation for a meeting with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Saturday.
It is important to note that Tinubu has accepted the invitation from Biden.
Receiving the US delegation, Tinubu advised Ambassador Phee to ensure that US policy is intentionally collaborative with independent African democracies at a time when they are under assault by anti-democratic forces within and outside of the continent.
The President noted that American-backed development finance and multilateral institutions, which were designed to support war-torn Europe after World War II, require swift and comprehensive reform to meet the developmental requirements of younger democracies in Africa.
According to Tinubu, the younger democracies operate in authoritarian-crowded environments, such that the legitimate yearnings of Africans would no longer be manipulated to serve the narrow aims of self-seeking demagogues through unconstitutional takeovers of power.
He said, “Yes, the private sector will lead the way within an enabling environment we create for them, but the US Government must be innovative in its thinking and systematically create incentives for US industrial investment in Nigeria.
“Under my leadership, Nigeria stands ready to address their specific regulatory, tax and environmental concerns. I am determined to create prosperity for all Nigerian families.”
The Nigerian leader also affirmed that the crisis in Niger Republic would not deter him from concluding his economic reform programme successfully for the benefit of Nigerians.
Tinubu further affirmed that he is not taking a queue from any nation, saying that he will only advance the interest of the Nigerian state in his approach toward ECOWAS’ handling of the regional standoff.
He said, “We are deep in our attempts to peacefully settle the issue in Niger by leveraging on our diplomatic tools.
“I continue to hold ECOWAS back, despite its readiness for all options, in order to exhaust all other remedial mechanisms.
“War is not ideal for my economic reforms, nor for the region, but the defense of democracy is sacrosanct. The ECOWAS consensus is that we will not allow anyone to insincerely buy time.”
