GABON COUP: Tinubu, African Union React, Reveals Next Step
President Bola Tinubu and the African Union have expressed concern about the Wednesday coup in the Republic of Gabon in the West Coast of Central Africa.
The head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said on Wednesday he “strongly condemns” what he described as an attempted coup in Gabon.
In a separate statement, Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity, disclosed Tinubu’s position on Wednesday while briefing State House Correspondent in Abuja.
Military officers in Gabon took over power and put the president, Ali Bongo, under house arrest, as the country becomes the latest in Africa to suffer an attempted coup, only weeks after mutinous troops seized power in Niger.
A statement published on the AU website in French said: “(Faki) is following with great concern the situation in the Gabonese Republic and strongly condemns the attempted coup d’etat in the country as a way of resolving its current post-electoral crisis.”
He “calls on the national army and security forces to adhere strictly to their republican vocation, to guarantee the physical integrity of the president of the republic, members of his family as well as those of his government”.
The AU commission chief also described Wednesday’s events as a “flagrant violation” of the legal and political instruments of the Addis Ababa-headquartered African Union.
While commenting on the development, Ngelale said that Tinubu would consult with other Heads of State and Government in the African Union on the Gabon crisis with a view to determining the way forward for the natural resource-rich country.
‘’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 sacrifices in his life in the course of advancing and defending democracy is of the belief that power belongs in the hands of Africa’s great people and not in the barrel of a loaded gun,’’ he said.
