.jpeg)
 |
| President Bola Ahmed Tinubu [photo Credit: Twitter, officialABAT] |
President Bola Tinubu has stated that a general agreement against the growth of "contagious autocracy" across Africa is the next step in determining how power will be exercised in Gabon.
The Nigerian president stated his commitment to cooperating with other heads of state to safeguard democracy on the African continent.
According to Ajuri Ngelale, the Presidential spokesperson, President Tinubu announced this in his initial response to the early morning Wednesday coup in Gabon.
The Gabon military seized power early Wednesday morning, announcing the cancellation of elections, the dissolution of all governmental institutions, and the closure of the country's borders.
Mr Ngelale said in his statement that President Tinubu is "watching closely with deep concern" for Gabon's socio-political stability and "at the seeming autocratic contention apparently spreading across different regions of our beloved continent."
The statement reads: “President Bola Tinubu is watching closely with deep concern for the country’s social-political stability and at the seeming autocratic contention apparently spreading across different regions of our beloved continent.
“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.
“The President 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 our great continent.
“To this end, the President is working very closely and continues to communicate with other Heads of State 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."
Mr Tinubu is leading ECOWAS attempts to overthrow the coup in neighbouring Niger, but he has been resistant to accept the use of force, as authorised by ECOWAS heads of government, to restore constitutional order in Niger.
[Vanguard]