President Nana Akufo-Addo – Chairman of ECOWAS
Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are meeting in Accra this morning.
The extraordinary summit which is being held at the Kempinski hotel in the capital on the political situation in Guinea is part of efforts to find a lasting solution to the stalemate resulting from a military coup by some elements in the Special Forces unit of that country’s Armed Forces led by one Colonel Mahady Doumbouya, a French legionnaire on September 5.
The mutineers succeeded in arresting Guinea’s elected President Alpha Conde who has since been in detention at an unknown location.
They have since suspended that country’s Constitution and dissolved Parliament.
ECOWAS Chairman and President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo and his other colleague leaders in the sub region have since been meeting to device a solution to the standoff.
They first issued a statement asking the military to restore country back to democratic rule, release the captured President and restore the Constitution and by extension Parliament which seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
Two days later, leaders in the sub region later held a virtual meeting after which they suspended Guinea from their fold like Mali and repeated their marching orders which seems to have since fallen on rocks, with the coup leaders are still holding on to their position under the pretext of preparing to form a unity government in the coming days.
It is not too clear what today’s meeting will agree on and its likely effect on the political situation in Guinea since the military continue to hold on to power like Mali where the military led by another Colonel, Asimi Goita toppled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August last year.
Col Assimi Goïta who later appointed Bah Ndaw as President and PM Moctar Ouane also removed them a few months ago saying they failed in their duties and were seeking to sabotage the country’s transition.
They were arrested hours after a government reshuffle which saw two senior army officers replaced.
Col Goïta who has since declared himself interim President said elections will still go ahead next year as planned.
But he ignored pleas from the UN chief, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), the EU and the US that the president and prime minister be released without any preconditions.
The two men were held at a military camp outside the capital, Bamako but were later released.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent