. Advocates good governance to counter coups in the region
. Commends Weah for conceding defeat, demonstrating sportsmanship and for peaceful polls
.As 10 African leaders demonstrate ‘African time’ before session kicked-off
President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Chairman African Union Commission Musa Faki Ahmad have reiterated the need for appropriate sanctioning of coup plotters and other non-state actors that engage in unconstitutional change of government in the West African and Sahel regions of the African continent.
Both leaders also commended President of Republic of Liberia Mr Goerge Weah for conceding defeat to his opponent Mr Joseph Boaz in the presidential elections in the West African nation.
President Tinubu who doubles as the Chairman of the Authority of the Heads of State and Government of the 15 member regional body and the AU chairman spoke at the opening session of the 64th Ordinary Session of the Authority of the Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS at the State House Abuja
Tinubu reiterated that the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS stand against unconstitutional change of government in the West African sub-region and the Sahel region of Africa.
He said that the 64th session of the ECOWAS summit is taking place in a time of democracy consolidation, food insecurity and other national challenges that needed collaborative action among national governments and the regional body.
He stated that collective commitment of member states had carved a nitche for the regional body adding that security in the region is the focal point that the governments of the 15 member regional body must achieve regardless of other commitments.
He said:” To further consolidate on democratic achievements, we ‘ve adopted punitive sanctions against unconstitutional change of government.
“We need to prioritize good governance to our people. Good governance ‘ll address the other concerns of our people.
“By addressing the root cause of poverty, we ‘ve addressed the root cause of coup d’etat”.
Also in his remarks, Chairman of the African Union Commission Musa Faki Ahmad said that the AU Commission remains committed to supporting the ECOWAS and other regional bodies on their peace initiatives in the West Africa sub-region.
The AU chairman who was represented by Amb A Adeyeye equally commended the incumbent President of Liberia Mr George Weah for his decision to play by the rules during the just concluded presidential election in the African nation and the people of Liberia for consolidating democratic rule in their country.
He pointed out that the governments of these African countries must channel efforts to address many emerging economic issues and assured that the AU would remain the hub for good governance in the African continent.
He also called peaceful transition in these African nations and government’s adherence to constitutionalism, rule of law and respect for human right and dignity
It would be recalled that the summit held in July 2023 had announced immediate sanctions including the closure of land and air borders between ECOWAS countries and Niger Republic and establishment of a no fly zone on all commercial flights to and from the country after the coup d’etat by the military jaunta.
This second summit which was scheduled to kick off at 10:05am with the ECOWAS Anthem and opening speech by the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of States and Government rather kicked-off at 12:00 with 9 Presidents of ECOWAS member states and the host confirming the saying about ‘African time’
