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The Heads of State and Government arm of the Economic Community of West African State is set to convene an emergency meeting to address the democratic decadence in Mali, following the military overthrow of the interim President and Prime Minister of the country.
This was disclosed by the Chairman of the Authority and President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, during the opening of the 2021 First Extra Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja on Thursday.
Akudo-Addo spoke against the military overthrow in Mali coordinated by Col. Asimi Goita on Monday.
Recall that the military in Mali overthrew the country’s Interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and took them to a military base outside the capital on Monday following a cabinet reshuffle in which two officers lost their posts.
This comes nine months after the military overthrew former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, amid perceived worsening crisis in the West African country.
The deposed President and Prime Minister were reported to have resigned on Wednesday and released on Thursday.
Reacting to the development, the Ghanaian President said, “My take is that we should call on the immediate Extraordinary Summit of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments which is responsible for ironing out the transitional arrangement to decide on the way forward for ECOWAS and Mali.”
“The Community will be kept fully abreast on development on the situation”, Akufo-Addo added.
He, however, noted that as Chair of the Authority, he already sent a high-level mediation team led by former President Goodluck Jonathan to look into the crisis but was yet to receive reports on the situation.
Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament Hon. Sidie Mohammed Tunis, who also condemned the coup, said that the recurring junta in the country was a threat to democracy in the region. He added that the Parliament, like other ECOWAS Institutions, has taken several steps to restore democratic rule in Mali.
He said, “We have made many efforts in securing a peaceful and stable ECOWAS and it is about time we take firm and decisive actions against forces that tend to reverse this trend. The ECOWAS Parliament stands ready to support all efforts aimed at putting Mali on the right trajectory of peace and democracy.”
This post was written by Obiajulu Joel Nwolu.
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.