This photo taken on Aug 6, 2023 shows a street view of Niamey, capital of Niger. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

NIAMEY / ABUJA - The President of Niger's National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), Abdourahamane Tchiani, announced a three-year transition in a televised speech on Saturday.

"All active forces in Niger will be invited within a period of thirty days, in order to formulate concrete positions that will lead to defining the fundamental principles to govern our transition, and to determine the priority of the transition, the duration of which cannot exceed three years," Tchiani said, noting that the junta has already been instructed to take urgent measures for the organization of this dialogue.

Urging all the active forces of the nation to engage in a national, inclusive dialogue, Tchiani said the goal of this dialogue "is to consult all components of the Nigerien people on the best ways to establish the foundations of a new constitutional order"

Urging all the active forces of the nation to engage in a national, inclusive dialogue, he said the goal of this dialogue "is to consult all components of the Nigerien people on the best ways to establish the foundations of a new constitutional order."

Abdourahamane Tchiani, the former commander of Niger's presidential guard, declared himself the head of a transitional government last month after President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted in a military coup.

ECOWAS delegation

Meanwhile, a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Saturday met Tchiani and Bazoum, a Nigerian presidential spokesperson said.

The ECOWAS special envoys to Niger have returned to the Nigerien capital, Niamey, to continue their dialogue with the leaders of the Niger military junta, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, a media aide to the Nigerian president said on a social media platform on Saturday evening.

"After meeting (with the) head of Niger's CNSP (the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland), General Abdoulrahmane Tchiani, the ECOWAS delegation in Niger has also visited President Mohamed Bazoum this evening in Niamey," Abdulaziz said, without revealing further details.

In early August, a delegation comprising members from the ECOWAS, the African Union and the United Nations failed to enter Niamey to meet the military junta, according to the ECOWAS Commission.

On Aug 10, the ECOWAS has resolved to activate its standby force in response to the recent coup in Niger while underscoring its continued commitment to restore constitutional order in the country through peaceful means.

Burkina Faso and Mali deployed military aircraft in Niger on Friday in response to any potential military intervention by the ECOWAS.

Niger's national television reported Friday night that Burkina Faso and Mali have deployed fighter jets and helicopters in the country to "respond to any form of aggression against Niger" from ECOWAS, a regional bloc comprising 15 West African nations.

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It also said that military leaders from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger convened Friday in the Nigerien capital Niamey to decide on "concrete measures" in case ECOWAS chooses to "escalate a war."

During a press briefing after a two-day meeting of ECOWAS defense chiefs in Accra, Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, said that if a peaceful resolution to the recent coup in Niger cannot be found through other means, a standby force is prepared to intervene in Niger at any time.