Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has spoken out on the recent coup in Gabon, which resulted in the removal and house arrest of President Ali Bongo.
He warned that “autocratic contagion” is sweeping the continent and pledged to collaborate with other African leaders to protect democracy. Tinubu’s opposition to the Gabon coup was disclosed in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale.
Military officers in Gabon seized power in the central African nation, as previously reported by Tru News Report. They claimed that the weekend elections were fraudulent, justifying their takeover of the government. They canceled the elections results, shut down all government organisations, and closed the country’s borders.
Mr. Ngelale said in a statement that President Tinubu is “watching developments unfolding in Gabon very closely and with deep concern for the country’s socio-political stability” and at the “seeming autocratic contagion appearing to spread to other parts of the African continent.”
Mr. Tinubu is leading ECOWAS attempts to overturn the coup in nearby Niger, but he has been hesitant to allow the use of force as authorized by the ECOWAS heads of government.
On Wednesday, Mr. Ngelale issued a separate statement in which he claimed that President Tinubu had a “substantive and extended discussion with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, where issues related to the crisis in Niger Republic and the unfolding situation in Gabon were discussed.”
The two leaders “mutually agreed that the promotion and protection of constitutional democratic governance on the continent remains a paramount priority and that the people of Africa living in the Diaspora around the world, making a huge impact on the sociopolitical landscapes and the economies of countries around the world, continue to urge on the global community to advance the cause of democracy on the continent for the sake of the people of Africa.”
He stated that Mr. Tinubu would continue to talk about the issue with other African and international leaders.
“The president, as a man who has made significant personal sacrifices in his own life for the cause of advancing and defending democracy, remains steadfast in his unwavering belief that power belongs in the hands of Africa’s great people and not in the barrel of a loaded gun,” Mr. Ngelale wrote in his first statement.
“The president affirms that the rule of law and a faithful recourse to constitutional instruments of electoral dispute resolution must not be allowed to perish from our great continent,” as quoted by Premium Times
