This was even as President Bola Tinubu has been advised not to go to war with neigbouring Niger Republic as doing so will be counterproductive and dangerous for Nigeria as a country.
The senator representing Abia North, Orji Kalu, handed down these pieces of advice on Saturday through his verified Facebook page.
Kalu said, “I am appealing to the conscience of the Niger ruling military junta to release the ousted President, Muhammed Bazoum and allow him go on exile into another country.
“No one will bring war to you if you release him and his family because the war is not necessary,” he said, advising that the coup leaders should also plan a transition programme that would see to the return of civil rule in earnest.
Kalu pleaded with Tchiani to release Bazoum to go to Gabon, to Morocco, to Algeria or elsewhere adding, “I am in full support that an immediate dialogue between ECOWASand the military leader in Niger should hold.
“I am appealing directly to the conscience of the military leader that he should quickly release the president and his family and allow them to leave the country.
“The Americans are very willing to give them passage to any part of the world. So, it is really good for this general in Niger to quickly reconsider his action. I am hoping that nobody will come to war against you. It is not going to work as long as you release the former president and his children and give them a safe passage out of the country.
“I hope you will be wise to toe the path of reasoning. In as much as we don’t want any military confrontation, you should also do what is right by releasing the former civilian president to have the right of passage into any of the countries of their choice.
Kalu similarly advised Tinubu not to go to war with Niger, stating that it is dangerous to fight in one’s backyard.
“I think that the advisers of President Tinubu, which I am also one of them, should continue pleading with him not to join in that fight since the Nigerian Senate has already said, ‘No, you can’t go to war’, as he needs the authorisation of the Senate to go to war.
“I don’t think it is a good idea to go to that war”, the senator said, advising that what ECOWAS should do is to go to the junta to ask him to put up a democratic process plan.
“The junta should give us a plan, six months, one year or two years plan to return to civil democratic process. If the junta said that the President of Niger, Bazoum has already resigned, let us take it like that.
“It is not our war, it is Niger’s internal affairs, it is the internal problem of Niger people. I hope that my President, my friend and my brother will understand that this is not our war. We have nothing to fight those people for”.
Kalu urged Tinubu to pull out of this ‘ECOWAS war’ adding, “if it means pulling out of ECOWAS, Nigeria should pull out, if going to war is ECOWAS decision. We are a sovereign nation. Nobody can toy with 250 million Nigerians. It is not possible. So, I plead with President Tinubu not to join the war. He is the chairman of ECOWAS, yes, but he also has a role to play to say, “I am not going to go to war” with Niger.
