52% of citizens opposed to Ghanaian soldiers joining ECOWAS’ troops to Niger – Research

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Some 52% of Ghanaians say they are not in support of any decision by the government to send Ghanaian soldiers to Niger to restore constitutional rule.

According to the research, the respondents fear there will be a spill over should the Ghanaian soldiers be involved.

This was revealed by a two-day poll conducted by the Global InfoAnalytics between Friday, August 18, and Saturday, August 19.

Views were sampled from 1,618 respondents across the 16 regions of Ghana for this purpose.

Meanwhile, the poll found that nearly 76% of Ghanaians share the view that coups in Africa have been occasioned by bad governance in those countries.

However, 17% do not share this view, and 7% have no opinion.

Again, 49% of Ghanaians also insisted that coups are not a durable solution to bad governance, while 43% disagree and 8% have no opinion.

On Friday, August 18, West African military leaders indicated that they are on standby, awaiting the activation of the ECOWAS order to deploy forces into Niger.

The objective of this anticipated deployment is to compel the coup-makers to relinquish control and reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

This formed a crucial part of the resolutions of the 48th Extraordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CDS) in Accra, Ghana.

ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, addressed the assembly, hinting at possible military intervention as a means to address the ongoing turmoil in Niger.

Speaking to the press, Mr Musah conveyed the preparedness of the ECOWAS forces, stating, “We are ready to go anytime the order is given.”

“The D-Day is also decided, which we are not going to disclose. There will be no more meetings of the Chiefs of Defence Staff.”

“If there will be, it will be probably in the course of the operation if there is the need to adjust the operation. This is the second extraordinary meeting and the final meeting before deployment.”

The Commissioner insisted that the deployment plan is set to unfold with careful precision, with the exact timing strategically determined to maximize effectiveness and minimise risks.