TheNewsGuru

Tag: ECOWAS

  • ECOWAS slams fresh sanctions on Mali, Guinea

    ECOWAS slams fresh sanctions on Mali, Guinea

    The West African regional grouping ECOWAS on Sunday hardened its stance against military-ruled Mali and Guinea, imposing new individual sanctions and calling on both countries to honour timetables for a return to democracy.

    The Economic Community of West African States “has decided to sanction all those implicated in the delay” in organising elections set for February 27 in Mali, ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou said after a summit of the 15-nation group in the Ghanaian capital Accra.

    He said Mali had “officially written” to Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, who holds the rotating presidency of ECOWAS, to inform him that the Sahel country could not hold elections as planned.

    “All the transition authorities are concerned by the sanctions which will take immediate effect,” Brou said, adding the travel bans and assets freezes targeted family members as well.

    In a final declaration following Sunday’s summit, ECOWAS said it “highly deplores the lack of progress” towards staging elections in Mali.

    The situation has raised concerns internationally, prompting a UN Security Council delegation to Mali late last month.

    Council members “reiterated their call for the Malian transitional authorities to achieve… the handover of power to democratically elected civilian authorities within the agreed timeline,” the officials said in a statement.

    Mali’s junta expelled the ECOWAS special envoy Hamidou Boly from the country on October 26, declaring him “persona non grata”.

    On Sunday, ECOWAS condemned the expulsion.

    As for Guinea, where soldiers seized power on September 5, ECOWAS decided to uphold the country’s suspension from the bloc as well as sanctions against individual junta members and their families.

  • Jonathan, Aisha Buhari, Atiku, others bag West Africa regional awards

    Jonathan, Aisha Buhari, Atiku, others bag West Africa regional awards

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan, First Lady Aisha Buhari and ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar are to be honoured with the West Africa Knowledge Economic Organisation (WAKEOrg) awards for making Nigeria and Africa proud.

    Also penciled down for the prestigious West African regional awards for their service to the nation and humanity are Chairman of BUA Group, Rabiu Abdulsamad, six outstanding state governors, three ministers as well as the two apex leaders of the National Assembly.

    Prof. OBC Nwolise, Spokesperson and Chairman, WAKEOrg Award Selection Committee, said in a statement that the outstanding personalities were being recognised for “their bravery and independent mind to save Nigeria and deepen democracy, not minding the associated risks”.

    While Jonathan will be honoured for his leadership wisdom and promotion of democratic ideals in Africa, Abubakar will be recognised for entrepreneurship and defence of democracy.

    On the other hand, Nigeria’s First Lady will be honoured for her advocacy, activism as well as her strength of character.

    The six outstanding governors for the WAKEOrg awards are Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Willie Obiano (Anambra), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Samuel Orthom (Benue) and Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto).

    Also to be honoured are the ministers of Humanitarian Affairs, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk, Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio and Petroleum Resources (state), Timipre Sylva, while Senate President, Dr Ahmed Lawan and House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, also made the honours list.

    Among the youths to be recognised for their creativity and leadership skills are Michael Ajereh (a.k.a, Don Jazzy) and Abudlrasheed Bawa, Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Other successful entrepreneurs on the awards list are Chief Innocent Chukwuma, Chief Cletus Ibeto, Chief Valentine Ozigbo and Chief Obi Iyiegbu, while the Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Achebe, will be honoured in the traditional rulers category.

    Awards for Deep Spiritual Knowledge and Competence in Prophecy go to Dr Chris Okafor, Senior Prophet Jeremiah Fufeyin and Apostle Johnson Suleman.

    On the criteria for the awards, Prof. Nwolise said that the organisation watched out for individuals who were outstanding in practical application of knowledge in their specific fields of endeavour.

    “We also watched out for political leaders in governance that demonstrated strategic thinking and planning for the betterment of the people they govern by executing people-oriented services and projects.

    “Citizens that have made Nigeria and Africa proud through industrial manufactures, protection of lives and property as well as capacity building for the less privileged, especially youths, were also on the watch list,” Prof. Nwolise said.

    He said that the recognition would enable the recipients to generate the energy to do more work in service to society and humanity and encourage others to offer honest, selfless, dedicated, humane and patriotic services to nation and humanity in whatever positions they found themselves.

    WAKEOrg is an independent sub-regional organisation for public-private cooperation committed to improving the state of West African economies, pushing for new frontiers in smart economic and social agenda.

    WAKEOrg also has partnership endorsements of Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Department of Education, Science and Culture of the ECOWAS Commission.

  • Coup: Guinea junta dares ECOWAS; rejects poll pressure, rules out exile for detained president

    Coup: Guinea junta dares ECOWAS; rejects poll pressure, rules out exile for detained president

    Guinea’s ruling junta on Saturday ruled out exile for detained former president Alpha Conde and said transition towards civilian rule would be done in accordance with “the will of the people”.

    The statement from the ruling council came in defiance of international pressure for Conde’s release and a six-month timetable for elections after a coup on September 5 sparked global condemnation.

    It also followed the visit on Friday of a mission from ECOWAS led by two heads of state from the 15-member West African bloc.

    Mamady Doumbouya, the colonel who led the coup, told the visiting delegation that “it was important for ECOWAS to listen to the legitimate aspirations of the people of Guinea,” said a junta spokesman, Colonel Amara Camara, at the ruling council’s first press conference on the six-month deadline.

    Doumbouya stressed the need not to repeat the “mistakes of the past”, recalling that national consultations to outline the transition had begun on Tuesday and that “only the sovereign people of Guinea will decide its destiny”, Camara said.

    “It is also clear to all parties that the former president will remain in Guinea,” he added.

    During their visit, the Ghanaian head of state Nana Akufo-Addo, whose country holds the rotating presidency of ECOWAS, and his Ivorian counterpart Alassane Ouattara, presented the junta with the organisation’s demands for elections within six months.

    They also insisted on the release of Conde.

    “We had very frank, fraternal talks with Colonel Doumbouya and his associates and collaborators and I think that ECOWAS and Guinea will find a way to walk together,” Akufo-Addo said at the end of the visit.

    The ruling council, which now designates Doumbouya as “President of the Republic and Head of State”, said that the consultation sessions scheduled for Friday with banks, insurance companies and unions would be held on Saturday.

    This consultation will continue next week, it announced, including Monday meetings with cultural actors, press associations and those within the informal sector.

    The military has already held talks with political parties, religious leaders, the heads of mining companies, key players in this poor but resource-rich country, and other figures.

  • ECOWAS freezes accounts; places Guinea, Mali coup leaders on travel ban

    ECOWAS freezes accounts; places Guinea, Mali coup leaders on travel ban

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has imposed targeted sanctions on the leaders of the military juntas in Guinea and Mali, a move aimed at forcing the rapid return of the countries to democratic rule.

    The decision was taken at an extraordinary summit of heads of state and government of the 15-member bloc in the Ghanaian capital, Accra on Thursday.

    A statement issued by the ECOWAS Commission said the sanctions which involve travel ban and freezing of financial assets are aimed at members of the juntas and their family members.

    In Guinea, the sanctions take effect immediately against all the members of the National Committee of Reconciliation and Development (CNRD) junta and their family members. And in Mali, it will affect only people identified as participating in a deliberate move to forestall the transition process there.

    The summit was attended by heads of states from nine countries, including the leaders of Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau and Senegal. Nigeria, the regional superpower, was represented by its Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

    The summit was chaired by Ghanaian president and current chairman of the bloc, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

    “The Conference reiterates its strong condemnation of the coup of September 5, 2021 and reaffirms its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of President Alpha Condé,” the statement read by ECOWAS President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou at a press briefing reads in part. It adds that the bloc holds the leaders of the junta individually and collectively responsible for the safety of Mr Condé.

    “The Guinea junta leaders were ordered to conduct presidential and legislative elections and hand over power to the elected officials within six months. All members of the CNRD were barred from contesting the presidential election.”

    ECOWAS leaders in the statement however also acknowledged the “apparent commitment” of the junta to work for a quick return of constitutional order, citing ongoing consultations with national and international actors in the country.

    Mali, where the military first seized power in August 2020 and later in May this year, is expected to conduct elections in February 2022, according to the resolution of an earlier summit by the regional leaders.
    But there have been concerns that the transition government might not meet the deadline, amidst indication that the junta was dragging its feet.

    The report on the political transition in Mali was presented by the former Nigerian President and ECOWAS envoy to the country, Goodluck Jonathan. The bloc’s decision, according to the ECOWAS statement, was an endorsement of the main recommendations contained in the Jonathan report.

    It expressed dissatisfaction with the slow pace of the preparation for the elections and insisted that the date stipulated must be followed.

    The Mali transition government was also ordered to submit by the end of next month a roadmap outlining the essential stages of the transition towards the elections, insisting that only reforms necessary to conduct the elections on the date indicated should be implemented.

    The Chairman of the commission was instructed to compile and submit the list of individuals and groups of individuals involved in the alleged efforts to derail the Mali’s transition process for appropriate actions.

    ECOWAS leaders also called for support from the African Union, European Union, United Nations, and Multilateral and bilateral partners in the enforcement of the sanctions.

  • Guinea crisis: Osinbajo to represent Nigeria at ECOWAS meeting in Accra

    Guinea crisis: Osinbajo to represent Nigeria at ECOWAS meeting in Accra

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will on Thursday represent Nigeria at the 2nd Extraordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Governments on the political situation in the Republic of Guinea.

    Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

    Osinbajo, had on Sept. 8, participated at a virtual ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit on the political situation in Guinea and Mali.

    The Authority had decided that Guinea be immediately suspended from all ECOWAS governing bodies and statutory meetings.

    ECOWAS leaders had also called for the immediate and unconditional release of President Alpha Conde and other arrested persons, demanded the immediate return of Guinea to constitutional order.

    They also decided to immediately dispatch a high-level ECOWAS mission to Guinea to assess the situation.

    The meeting on Thursday will review the situation in Guinea in light of the report of the ECOWAS high-level mission to Conakry.

    The vice president will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Zubairu Dada.

    He is expected back in Abuja later in the day.

  • Guinea holds talks in Conakry to prepare transition back to civil rule

    Guinea holds talks in Conakry to prepare transition back to civil rule

    More than a week after a military coup ousted Guinean strongman Alpha Condé, junta boss Lt.-Col. Mamady Doumbouya has requested talks to form a transitional government, media reports from the capital, Conakry, indicate.

    Guinea is holding a four-day conference this week to prepare a transition back to civilian democratic rule following a Sept. 5 military coup led by Doumbouya.

    The coup led to the suspension of the impoverished West African nation from the African Union (AU) and the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

    Reporting from outside the national parliament in Conakry, FRANCE 24’s James André said the talks would be held in the compound, where Doumbouya is currently based and where Condé has been detained.

    “Mamady Doumbouya is going to receive all the main stakeholders in the country, starting with the country’s party leaders,” said André.

    Speaking to FRANCE 24, Cellou Dalein Diallo, head of the main opposition party, said he was ready to offer his services.

    The president of the Union des Forces Démocratiques de Guinée (UFDG) party said his teams were “working to establish what reforms and steps need to be taken to achieve a fair, transparent election.

    “For example, we need a voter list, an electoral law, and we need to know how long each action will take,” Diallo said.

    Several Guineans, including civil society activists, fed up with Alpha Conde, particularly his constitutional amendments that enabled a term extension, say they are willing to support the junta’s bid to transition the country to civilian rule.

    “The military takeover has made the people very hopeful, I’d say too hopeful actually,” said Dansa Kourouma, president of the National Council of Civil Society Organisations (CNOSCG).

    “We want to tell them they cannot afford any mistakes.

    “We hope that Guinean democratic foundations can be rebuilt consensually and successfully within a reasonable time frame.”

  • Coup: Like ECOWAS, African Union suspends Guinea

    Coup: Like ECOWAS, African Union suspends Guinea

    Guinea’s ruling military came under diplomatic pressure on Friday as the African Union suspended the country over last weekend’s coup and West African envoys arrived to mediate in the crisis.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the regional bloc ECOWAS had already suspended Guinea after special forces led by Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya seized power on Sunday and arrested president Alpha Conde.

    On Friday, the African Union (AU) followed suit, tweeting that it had decided “to suspend the Republic of Guinea from all AU activities and decision-making bodies.”

    According to reports, mediators from ECOWAS — the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States — also landed in the capital Conakry on Friday for a possible solution to the crisis.

    ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou is part of the delegation, as are the Nigerian, Ghanaian, Burkinabe and Togolese foreign ministers.

    Coup leader Doumbouya met the envoys at a hotel in Conakry on Friday afternoon. The delegation, which is also due to meet Conde, is set to Guinea leave the same evening.

    Increasing pressure on Guinea comes amid rising fears of democratic backsliding across West Africa, where strongmen are an increasingly familiar sight.

    Guinea’s putsch has drawn parallels with its neighbour Mali, which has suffered two coups since August last year led by Colonel Assimi Goita, who was also a special forces commander.

  • BREAKING: ECOWAS suspends Guinea over military coup

    BREAKING: ECOWAS suspends Guinea over military coup

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Guinea’s membership following the military coup that overthrew President Alpha Conde over the weekend, Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister Alpha Barry said on Wednesday.

    The leaders of the bloc also demanded Conde’s release from military custody, and will send a high-level delegation to Guinea on Thursday, said Alpha Barry, speaking to the media after a video summit of ECOWAS leaders.

  • ECOWAS to hold extraordinary summit on Guinean coup

    ECOWAS to hold extraordinary summit on Guinean coup

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will hold an extraordinary summit on Guinea on Thursday, according to a staff memo.

    The summit comes in the wake of a coup that ousted the 11 year-old government of President Alpha Conde on Sunday.

    Coup leader Col. Mamady Doumbouya has dissolved Conde’s cabinet and suspended the constitution.

    This prompted ECOWAS first reaction by its chairman, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, demanding a return to constitutional order and threatening to impose sanctions.

    Akufo-Addo said ECOWAS demands the immediate and unconditional release of President Alpha Condé as well as others arrested.

    “ECOWAS notes with great concern the recent political developments which occurred in Conakry, Republic of Guinea. She condemns with the greatest firmness this coup attempt on Sunday, September 5, 2021.

    Related News

    Guinea’s coup leader Doumbouya faces foreign backlash
    ECOWAS, Nigeria condemn Guinea coup d’état
    ECOWAS will sustain democracy: Akufo-Addo
    “ECOWAS demands respect for the physical integrity of the President of the Republic, the Professor Alpha Condé, and his immediate and unconditional release as well as that of all the personalities arrested

    “ECOWAS reaffirms its disapproval of any unconstitutional political change.

    “She asks the defense and security forces to remain in a posture Republican and expresses its solidarity with the Guinean people and Government,” Akufo-Addo stated.

    The Guinean coup was the second in West Africa after the 18 August 2020 Malian military coup that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

    ECOWAS had failed to restore democracy in the country

  • Osinbajo canvasses inclusive trade to boost ECOWAS economy

    Osinbajo canvasses inclusive trade to boost ECOWAS economy

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement necessitate more inclusive trade initiatives and expanded intra-regional trade.

    Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said the vice president spoke at the inaugural gala night of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Trade Promotion Organisations (TPO) Network.

    The President of ECOWAS TPO Network is Mr Segun Awolowo, Executive Director, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), while Mr Guy M’Bengue, the Chief Executive Officer, Cote d’Ivoire Export Promotion Organisation, is the vice president.

    Osinbajo said that the TPO Network, which was established with the support of the International Trade Centre (ITC), was a farsighted and insightful initiative of the ECOWAS, trade promotion organisations in the ECOWAS community.

    “The network must present a trustworthy platform for cross learning and the sharing of knowledge and information assets.

    “The vision of our Heads of State and Governments in resolving to establish this network (TPO) is to build a more robust and broader economic space for trade and investment.

    “A major part of that effort is that the network serves as a platform for businesses and trade promotion agencies in our region to share knowledge and business opportunities, and develop trade capacity in our region.”

    According to Osinbajo, ECOWAS TPO Network is a public-sector led entity and will work in partnership with the ECOWAS Commission to drive inclusive trade development initiatives within West Africa and beyond.

    The vice president said the network had world class human resource capacity to succeed in achieving its set objectives.

    “The combined experience of the TPOs that form the network is mind boggling.

    “Second is our confidence in your resilience and commitment, which assures us that beyond the tunnel of those obvious challenges lies the bright light of a new era of trade prosperity for the people of the West Africa region and, indeed, the continent,” he said.

    He commended the ECOWAS and the TPO network for the success of the inauguration and its First Annual General Assembly.

    According to the vice president, there is the imminent task of enabling our region benefit maximally from the AfCFTA and other intra and extra regional export opportunities.

    Dignitaries present at the event included the wife of the Vice President, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Industry, Trade and Investment; Otunba Niyi Adebayo and his colleague Minister of State, Ambassador Mariam Katagum, among others.