ECOWAS: Tinubu demands re-engagement with regional juntas to promote constitutional governance
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on the West African bloc, ECOWAS, to re-open talks with regional countries under military rule and support them to achieve “realistic and short” transitions to democracy.
Speaking at an annual summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja, ECOWAS chairman Tinubu said the bloc should re-engage “with the countries under military rule on the basis of realistic and short transition plans that can deliver democracy and good governance.”
“We should be prepared to provide them with technical and material support, to ensure the achievement of these strategic goals,” said Tinubu.
Niger in July became the latest Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member to be hijacked by military juntas after soldiers from the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum.
The Abdouramane Tchiani-led junta has since set up what they called a transitional government, one of a series of government overthrows in West Africa’s Sahel region.
Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone said two weeks ago they had thwarted coup attempts, which has highlighted the current state of political chaos in the region.
The meeting in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, was attended by countries like Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Other members attending are Benin, Gambia, Togo, Cape Verde and Senegal.
The ECOWAS Commission and other stakeholders, such as former President Goodluck Jonathan, the U.S. Lead diplomat for Africa, Molly Phee, the African Union (AU), and the UN Secretary-General Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Simao, also attended.
Other issues of focus are climate change, bilateral relations, and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
