President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has showed deep concern with the autocratic contention spreading across different regions of Africa while reacting to the latest coup in Gabon, where President Ali Bongo was ousted and placed under house arrest.
Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale said the President as a man who has made significant personal sacrifices in his own life in the course of advancing and defending democracy is of the unwavering belief that power belongs in the hands of Africa’s great people and not in the barrel of a loaded gun.
He added that Tinubu affirms that the rule of law and a faithful recourse to the constitutional resolutions and instruments of electoral dispute resolution must not at any time be allowed to perish from the great continent.
“To this end, the President is working very closely and continues to communicate with other Heads of States in the African Union towards a comprehensive consensus on the next steps forward with respect to how the power in Gabon will play out and how the continent will respond to contagious autocracy we have seen spread across our continent”, Ngelale stated.
Credible News recalls that some military personnel had hinged their plot to seize power from Bongo on what they termed as observed flaws in the recent general election in the central African country.
The officers had also admitted that the organisation of the general elections of August 26, 2023, did not meet the conditions for a transparent, credible and inclusive ballot so much hoped for by the people of Gabon.
They had also cited irresponsible and unpredictable governance, resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion, with the risk of leading the country into chaos.
The coup would represent the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020. Coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger have undermined democratic progress in recent years.
Last month, the military snatched power in Niger, sending shock waves across the Sahel and sucking in global powers with strategic interests at stake.
