Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo
By DAVID IORJA and JACOB KUBEKA –
Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, on Monday in Niamey, Niger Republic emerged the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS).
His appointment took place at the 57th summit hosted by the outgoing ECOWAS Chairman, President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger at the Mahatma Gandhi International Conference Centre.
The summit is being attended will leaders within and outside the region with matters on the 44th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council and the 84th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers top on the agenda.
Akufo-Addo’s appointment as swiftly announced by Ghana’s Information Ministry with a tweet on its Twitter handle, “President @NAkufoAddo has just been elected as the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), at the ongoing 57th ECOWAS Summit, which is being held in Niamey, capital of Niger.”
President Buhari, who made the call while presenting Nigeria’s General Statement at the 57th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government , urged his colleagues to respect constitutional provisions and ensure free and fair elections.
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), Garba Shehu, quoted the Nigerian President as saying “it is important that as leaders of our individual Member-States of ECOWAS, we need to adhere to the constitutional provisions of our countries, particularly on term limits. This is one area that generates crisis and political tension in our sub-region.”
According to Buhari, “as it is, the challenges facing the sub-region are enormous; from socio-economic matters to security issues, the ECOWAS sub-region cannot therefore afford another political crisis, in the guise of tenure elongation. I urge us all to resist the temptation of seeking to perpetuate ourselves in power beyond the constitutional provisions.”
He commended those ECOWAS leaders that had resisted such temptations, pointing out that such leaders would be deemed “exceptional role models in their respective countries and the sub-region as a whole.”
“Related to this call for restraint is the need to guarantee free, fair and credible elections. This must be the bedrock for democracy to be sustained in our sub-region, just as the need for adherence to the rule of law,” he added.
