The recent coup in Guinea Bissau has continued to generate reactions from African leaders even as Guinea Bissau has sworn in an Army General, and former head of the Presidential guard, Horta N’Tam, as the transitional head of the State for one year.
The Military coup occurred after an election in which both the incumbent president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, and the opposition candidate, Fernando Dias, declared themselves winners of the election, even before the release of official results.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan who was in Guinea Bissau as part of a joint election observer mission, deployed by the African Union, AU, ECOWAS, and WAEF, was reportedly trapped in the country following the military take over, which resulted in the closure of all land, air and sea borders, and an overnight curfew.
Jonathan expressed his displeasure over the incident on his safe arrival back to Nigeria on Thursday. He was accompanied by the Heads of the African Union Election Observation Mission, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Election Observation Mission, and the West African Elders Forum.
The Nigerian Government has unequivocally condemned the military coup in the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, describing it as an unconstitutional change of government that threatens stability in the West African region.
The heads of the missions and forum in a statement by Filipe Nyusi, former President of Mozambique, Issifu Kamara, and former President Jonathan, both criticised the disruption of the otherwise ‘smooth’ electoral process by the military, while strongly commending the conduct and professionalism of the people of Guinea Bissau, Polling staff, security personnel, party agents and the presidential candidates, throughout the election.
“It is regrettable that this announcement came at a time when the missions had just concluded a meeting with the two leading presidential candidates, who assured us of their willingness to accept the will of the people”, they noted.
The leaders called on the African Union and the ECOWAS to take the necessary steps to restore constitutional order in the country, while also asking for the release of top officials in charge of the electoral process who were arrested.
President Tinubu on Thursday joined other Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS in an emergency virtual meeting convened to address the coup in Guinea Bissau, with a view to bringing constitutional order and stability to the West African region.
President Tinubu was Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government for two consecutive terms until June 2025 when he handed leadership over to the Sierra Leonean, President Julius Maada Bio.
ECOWAS has been grappling with a resurgence of coups across the region in recent years, and Thursday’s emergency summit signalled the bloc’s resolve to prevent further destabilisation.
With Additional Reports from the Vanguard