The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has called for stricter measures taken against nations where military takes over government by force.
He made the call on Wednesday at a virtual Extraordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS member-states on the political developments in the Republics of Guinea and Mali.
According to the Vice President who represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the meeting, one of such stricter measures that could be taken would be a suspension from the international community.
“Could we, for example, work out an understanding with the UN, AU, Commonwealth and possibly, even the development finance institutions we are a part of to act in unity to suspend a country where there has been a seizure of power from all these bodies simultaneously?” he asked.
Professor Osinbajo believes such a measure will prevent subsequent coups d’etat in the sub-region, and even on the continent.
TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the meeting, attended by 10 of the ECOWAS leaders, alongside others, including representatives from the United Nations, comes few days after Guinean President, Alpha Conde, was ousted by a coup d’etat in the West African country on September 5.
This culminated in his arrest and detention by the country’s military junta, as well as the dissolution of the Guinean government and suspension of the Constitution.
Osinbajo, who stated Nigeria’s position on the unfortunate development in Guinea, joined other global leaders to condemn the unconstitutional change of government in that – a development which he said could seriously destabilise the Republic of Guinea.
“What happened in Guinea is a brazen disregard for the provisions of ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, which clearly states that every accession to power must be made through a free, fair and transparent election,” he was quoted as saying in a communique by his media aide, Laolu Akande.
“The unconstitutional seizure of power in any shape or form is simply unacceptable; four coups within the last few months is a dangerous trend indeed.”
The Vice President Prof. Osinbajo went ahead to table an idea which the Chairman of ECOWAS and President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, described as “a proposal of great weight.”
“We are sliding back to the infamous 60s. Our zero-tolerance for coups is important but clearly insufficient. Are there further steps that we can take to prevent coups d’etat? he questioned.
Professor Osinbajo stressed the need for countries in the sub-region to respect the provisions against unconstitutional accession to power and to apply it in all instances.
“The Authority (should) to immediately invoke the provisions of Article 45 of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance by suspending Guinea from all ECOWAS decision-making bodies and statutory meetings.
“We should also take any other necessary punitive measures that will ensure that the military junta does not overstay in power,” he proposed.
“We must forestall a repeat of military interventions and the instability it engenders in the West African sub-region. In this connection, Nigeria wishes to once again urge all to always respect the principles of democracy and the constitutions of your respective countries.”