President Bola Tinubu, on Monday evening, returned to Abuja
on Monday evening, after a two-day official visit to Bissau, Guinea-Bissau,
where he attended the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State
and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
President Tinubu arrived at the Presidential Wing of the
Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 6:30 pm, aboard the NAF
001 Boeing 737 jet.
While in Bissau, the President was unanimously named the new
Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, making
him one of the fastest into that office, after the election into office as
President of any of the member-states.
After accepting the role of Chairman of the Authority,
Tinubu pledged to bear the responsibility of the office and run an inclusive
administration of the regional organisation.
He warned that terrorism and the persistent pattern of coup
d’etat in the region had reached alarming levels, demanding urgent and
concerted action.
He argued that insecurity and creeping terrorism were
stunting the progress and development of the sub-region, necessitating
collective action from member-states.
While decrying the emerging pattern of coup d’etat in West
Africa, Tinubu charged ECOWAS to stand firm in defence of democracy.
“There is no one among us who did not campaign to be a
leader. We didn’t give our soldiers resources, we didn’t invest in them, in
their boots, in their training to violate the freedom of the people,” he said.
According to him, the military turning its guns against
civil authorities violates the principles upon which they were hired, which is
to defend the sovereignty of their nations.
“We must not sit in ECOWAS as toothless bulldogs,” he added.
He urged his counterparts to strengthen their respective
democratic institutions and ensure respect for human rights and the rule of
law, saying his one-year tenure “will enhance engagements with the countries in
transition (Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso) to ensure their quick return to
democratic rule.”
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