Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is currently representing President Muhammadu Buhari at a virtual Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) extraordinary summit on the situation in Guinea Republic.
At the emergency Wednesday meeting of the regional political and economic union of 15 countries located in West Africa, which began at 2:00 p.m., top on the agenda is the recent toppling of a democratic government of the President Alpha Conde administration, among other pressing security issues within the subregion.
The ECOWAS secretariat had, on Tuesday hinted on its plan to hold an extraordinary summit on Guinea on Wednesday, in a memo shared by its staff with the media.
Recalled special forces of soldiers ousted long-serving President Alpha Conde and dissolved his cabinet on Sunday, prompting ECOWAS to demand a return to constitutional order and threaten to impose sanctions. read more
The group of elite troops led by a Guinean former French Foreign Legionnaire, who arrested 83-year-old Conde, announced they were scrapping the constitution and imposed a curfew in the West African state.
Consequently, ECOWAS, on Sunday condemned the coup and demanded Conde’s unconditional release.
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A follow to its demands for restoration of democratic rule in Guinea is its emergency virtual extraordinary summit of member states called to discuss the situation in Guinea, the communications director for the ECOWAS Commission, Sandra Oulate, said on Tuesday.
A statement to journalists on an ECOWAS social media account said the meeting would be at 2:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Wednesday.
Conde, a former champion of democracy, had been facing mounting anger for sidestepping constitutional limits on presidential terms.
He was Guinea’s first democratically-elected president in 2010 and was re-elected five years later. But he triggered protests last year when he pushed through constitutional changes enabling him to run again.
The international community criticised the latest turmoil in a region where many countries are struggling with poverty, inequality and jihadist insurgencies.
The African Union (AU) and the United Nations called for Conde’s release. The EU and France, the former colonial power, both condemned the coup — the latest in a region that has seen recent military takeovers in Mali and Chad.
