The Centre for Public Opinion and Awareness (CenPOA) has advised President Akufo-Addo not to allow his personal interests and ties with the French to influence any regrettable decision in the Niger crisis.

The Executive Director of CenPOA, Michael Donyina Mensah, says there are speculations that the French are behind what is going on in Niger because of their business interests.

He said these speculations could have some elements of truth since they would want to prevent the destruction of their businesses.

To do this, the French will want to use some people or countries to promote their interests.

He said President Akufo-Addo is a possible candidate that the French may want to use because of his strong ties and relationship with them.

Speaking in an interview on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm, he said, ”I want to advise President Akufo-Addo to tread cautiously in how he intervenes in the matter. There are speculations that the French are behind what is happening because they want to protect their business interests. If they are indeed behind what is happening, they will need people to help them, and President Akufo-Addo is a possible target. He is a possible target because of his strong ties and relationship with the French”.

He told host Kwabena Agyapong that when you examine the intervention by ECOWAS and the decision to deploy the military to Niger, the core strength of that approach will depend on Ghana and Nigeria, and for that reason, he has advised the President to be cautious.

”As a result, we want to caution President Akufo-Addo to examine his actions critically. He should be cautious in his approach and consider the potential consequences for Ghana. He should not let his personal interests, relationships, or ties influence his decision. He has strong ties with the French government, so he will most likely be apprehended for it. However, we request that you exercise caution and refrain from doing anything that could have serious consequences for Ghana”.

He stated that Niger had the opportunity to develop democratically and that the military takeover was unfortunate.

He emphasised the importance of ECOWAS acting militarily to address the issue.

It must, however, exhaust all diplomatic processes, regardless of how long they take.

According to him, the military takeover in Niger resulted in no casualties; thus, it would be unwise to use a procedure that could end up killing more people.

”No one died as a result of the coup. It was a bloodless coup, which is why we must exhaust all diplomatic channels in dealing with the crisis, no matter how long it takes. If we use the military, the consequences could be disastrous. We could record more casualties because ECOOWAS used the military when the coup itself did not result in any casualties.”

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