After a two-day official trip to Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, for the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Bola Tinubu returned to Abuja on Monday night.
At around 6:30 p.m., President Tinubu boarded the NAF 001 Boeing 737 and flew to the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
After being elected as President of one of the member states, the President of ECOWAS was unanimously appointed the new Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS while he was in Bissau, making him one of the quickest into that position.
After assuming the position of Chairman of the Authority, Tinubu vowed to fulfill the duties of the position and oversee an inclusive management of the regional organization.
He issued a warning that the level of terrorism and the persistent coup d’etat pattern in the area had reached alarming proportions and called for immediate and coordinated action.
He claimed that terrorism and a climate of insecurity were impeding the sub-region’s growth and development and demanded coordinated action from member governments.
Tinubu urged ECOWAS to be steadfast in defending democracy while denouncing the pattern of coup d’etats that is beginning to emerge in West Africa.
“There is no one among us who did not campaign to be a leader. We didn’t give our soldiers resources, we didn’t invest in them, in their boots, in their training to violate the freedom of the people,” he said.
According to him, the military turning its guns against civil authorities violates the principles upon which they were hired, which is to defend the sovereignty of their nations.
“We must not sit in ECOWAS as toothless bulldogs,” he added.
He urged his counterparts to strengthen their respective democratic institutions and ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law.
Tinubu said his one-year tenure “will enhance engagements with the countries in transition (Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso) to ensure their quick return to democratic rule.”