The President of Nigeria and ECOWAS Chairman, Bola Tinubu has expressed concern about Wednesday’s coup in the Republic of Gabon.
His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, said on Wednesday.
Classic International reports that the military, on Wednesday, announced a coup in Gabon, deposing President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was declared winner of Saturday’s controversial election.
In his reaction, Ngelale said President Tinubu has a firm belief in the fact that power lies in the hands of African people and not in the barrel of a loaded gun.
According to him, President Tinubu is in constant touch with fellow African leaders on how best to address the recurring autocratic tendencies blowing across the African continent.
His words: “President Bola Tinubu is watching developments in Gabon very closely with deep concern for the country’s social-political stability and at the seeming autocratic contagion apparently spreading across different regions of our beloved continent.
“The President, as a man who has made significant personal sacrifices in his own life in the course of advancing and defending democracy, is of the unwavering belief that power belongs in the hands of Africa’s great people and not in the barrel of a loaded gun.
“The President affirms that the rule of law and a faithful recourse to the constitutional resolutions and instruments of electoral dispute resolution must not at any time be allowed to perish from our great continent.
“To this end, the President is working very closely and continuing to communicate with other Heads of State in the African Union and beyond towards a comprehensive consensus on the next steps forward with respect to how the crisis in Gabon will play out and how the continent will respond to the contagion of autocracy we are seeing spread across our continent.”
Ngelale also disclosed that President Tinubu, on Wednesday afternoon, had a fruitful telephone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau over the coup in Gabon and last month’s unconstitutional change of government in Niger Republic.
Ngelale said the two leaders agreed to promote and protect constitutional orders in the African continent.
“The President has had substantive extended discussions with the Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau, where issues related to the crisis in Niger Republic and the unfolding situation in Gabon were discussed.
“The two Heads of State mutually agreed that the promotion and protection of constitutional democratic governance on the continent remains a paranoid priority and that the people of Africa living in the diaspora around the world making a huge impact on the sociopolitical landscapes of countries around the world and the economies of countries around the world continue to urge on the global community to advance the course of democracy on the continent for the sake of the economic prosperity of all Africans.
“So, it is of frontline importance to understand that President Bola Tinubu would continue to engage with Heads of State not just only in the African Union but also around the world and those communications and engagements are ongoing,” he added.
Credit: TheWill