Monrovia — The Prime Minister of Niger on Thursday paid a courtesy call on President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Monrovia. Prime Minister Ali Badjo Gamatie, at the head of a four-member delegation, briefed the Liberian President on the situation in Niger and ongoing efforts to resolve the crisis.

An Executive Mansion release says the delegation also discussed with the Liberian leader sanctions which have been imposed on Niger by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The regional bloc last October suspended Niger after President Mamadou Tandja and his allies ignored the organization's call for a delay in holding legislative elections to allow dialogue with the opposition.

Niger was thrown into crisis after President Tandja won broader powers and an extended mandate in a widely criticized referendum in August last year.

The delegation hoped the ECOWAS mediation committee, headed by former Nigerian military ruler Abdulsalam Abubakar, would derive an amicable solution to the problem.

The Liberian leader thanked the delegation for the visit and assured Prime Minister Gamatie that Liberia would continue to work within the ECOWAS framework in finding a political settlement that would benefit the people of Niger and ensure peace and stability within the sub-region.

The delegation has also met with the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, who is currently in Monrovia as guest of the Liberian Government for the commemoration of the 53rd Armed Forces Day.

The delegation also made stops in Senegal and Burkina Faso.