The Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari has joined ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments in calling for immediate release of President Ibrahim Keita of Mali, and a return to Constitutional order in the country.
At a virtual ECOWAS Extraordinary Session on the situation in Mali, the President said that the removal of the Malian leader could spiral into more crises in the country, with devastating consequences for the West African sub-region.
A coup d’tat in the already troubled West African country on Tuesday overthrew the democratically elected government of President Boubacar Keita.
According to Buhari, the events in Mali were great setbacks for regional diplomacy, with grave consequences for the peace and security of West Africa.
“It is time for the unconstitutional ‘authority’ in Mali to act responsibly and ensure restoration of constitutional order, peace and stability,” he said.
Buhari, on his verified twitter handle said “Nigeria strongly supports the efforts of ECOWAS Chairman, President Mahamadou Issoufou, for wider regional and continental consultations with ECOWAS, the AU and the UN, and the adoption of strong measures to bring speedy resolution to the situation.
“A politically stable Mali is paramount and crucial to the stability of the sub-region. We must all join efforts, ECOWAS, the AU, the UN and other stakeholders, and work together until sanity returns to Mali with the restoration of Civil Administration.”
