By Francis Kobena Tandoh
Leaders of the West African sub-regional body, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), have condemned recent coup attempts in Guinea-Bissau and Benin.
At the 68th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, held at the Nigerian State House, with support from the African Union and the United Nations, the leaders described the incidents as a threat to regional stability.
The regional body’s rapid deployment of its standby force to Benin to foil the December 7 coup attempt was widely praised as a demonstration of ECOWAS’s commitment to safeguarding democracy in West Africa.
Among the high-level dignitaries at the ECOWAS Session was Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the meeting, joined by Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio (ECOWAS Chair), Benin’s Foreign Affairs Minister, José Maria Neves (Cabo Verde), Côte d’Ivoire’s Vice President, and other regional leaders, including Adama Barrow (The Gambia), John Mahama (Ghana), Bassirou Faye (Senegal), and Faure Gnassingbé (Togo).
However, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea remain suspended from the sub-regional body; hence, they were not represented.
The summit comes against the backdrop of five turbulent years in the region, which saw coups in Mali (2020, 2021), Burkina Faso (2022), and Niger (2023). The latest incidents in Benin and Guinea-Bissau add to concerns about escalating instability in West Africa.
Before the official opening of the 68th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS, heads of state within the sub-region held a three-hour closed-door session to deliberate on pressing issues. End item
Source: Ghana Eye Report
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