Military coup in Gabon: AU, Tinubu, Canadian PM condemn sacking of President Bongo

ADEKUNLE ADESUJI

African Union , President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau has condemn the  sacking of President Bongo,

 

It would be recalled that  the military leaders in Gabon announced they seized power, days after the Central African nation’s presidential election which confirmed President Ali Bongo Ondimba’s third term.

 

However, President Tinubu and the Canadian Prime Minister, Trudeau, Wednesday had ‘extended discussions’ on the political situations in Niger and Gabon.

 

This was disclosed by the President’s spokesman, Mr. Ajuri Ngelale.

 

Ngelale told journalists in Abuja that: “The President has had substantive extended discussions with the Canadian Prime minister Justin Trudeau where issues related to the crisis in Niger Republic and the unfolding situation in Gabon were discussed.

 

“The two heads of States mutually agreed that the promotion and protection of constitutional democratic governance on the continent remains a paranoid priority and that the people of Africa living is the diaspora around the world making a huge impact to the social political landscapes of countries around the world and the economies of countries around the world continue to urge on the global community to advance the course of democracy on the continent for the sake of the economic prosperity of all Africans.

 

“So, it is of frontline importance to understand that President Bola Tinubu would continue to engage with Heads of State not just only in the African Union but also around world and those communications and engagements are on-going.

 

“President Bola Tinubu is watching closely with deep concern for the country’s social political stability and at the the seeming autocratic contention apparently spreading across different regions of our beloved continent.

 

“The President as a man who has made significant, personal sacrifices in his own life in the course of advancing and defending democracy is of the unwavering belief that power belongs in the hands of Africa’s great people and not in the barrel of a loaded gun.

 

“The President affirms that the rule of law and a faithful recourse to the constitutional resolutions and instruments of electoral dispute resolution must not at any time be allowed to perish from our great continent.

 

“To this end, the President is working very closely and continues to communicate with other Heads of State in the African Union towards a comprehensive consensus on the next steps forwards with respect to how the power in Gabon will play out and how the continent will respond to contagious autocracy we have seen spread across our continent.

 

 

‘’H.E. President Bola Tinubu is watching developments unfolding in Gabon very closely and with deep concern for the country’s socio-political stability and the seeming autocratic contagion appearing to spread to other parts of the African continent.

 

The President, as a man who has made significant personal sacrifices in his own life for the cause of advancing and defending democracy, remains steadfast in his unwavering belief that power belongs in the hands of Africa’s great people and not in the barrel of a loaded gun.

 

The President affirms that the rule of law and a faithful recourse to constitutional instruments of electoral dispute resolution must not be allowed to perish from our great continent.

 

To this end, the President will continue to communicate with other Heads of State within the African Union and beyond toward a comprehensive consensus on the next steps forward.

 

 

.Detained ousted President  calls for protest

 

Meanwhile, Hours after military leaders seized power in Gabon, ousted President Ali Bongo has issued a plea to the public from where he is being held under house arrest.

 

Bongo called on the people of Gabon to “make noise,” saying in a brief video he has been illegally detained at his residence.

 

Bongo was accused of high treason by the group of high-ranking officers who deposed him.

 

 

The group added that other government officials as well as Bongo’s son, Nouredine Bongo, had been arrested.

 

Earlier, the military leaders in Gabon announced they seized power, days after the Central African nation’s presidential election which confirmed President Ali Bongo Ondimba’s third term.

 

The election results had been falsified, a group of officers said.

 

State institutions had been dissolved with immediate effect, the election results annulled and the country’s borders closed, said the group, which called itself the Committee for Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI).

 

The announcement came a few hours after the electoral authority declared Bongo the winner of the election with 64.27 per cent of the vote.

 

.Face your job, AU warns coup leaders

 

Also, the head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, on Wednesday, warned the Gabonese national army and security forces to adhere to their “republican vocation”.

 

This is as he also strongly condemned what he described as an “attempted coup” in Gabon.

 

Rebel officers in the oil-rich central African state announced earlier Wednesday they had seized power following disputed elections, in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba had been declared victor.

 

Bongo, 64, whose family has ruled Gabon for over 55 years, was placed under house arrest and one of his sons arrested for treason, the coup leaders 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 said in a statement published on the AU website in French.

 

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.

 

 

“(Faki) encourages all political, civil and military actors in Gabon to favour peaceful political paths leading to the rapid return to democratic constitutional order in the country.”

 

.As President Lourenço invites Tinubu for consultations

Angolan President João Lourenço on Wednesday invited his counterpart, President Bola Tinubu, to the regular bilateral and multilateral consultations of African leaders aimed at tackling common challenges across the continent.

This is stated in a message by Lourenço through his envoy, Téte António, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Angola, in Abuja.

The message was made available to newsmen by the Institutional Communication and Press Services of the Embassy of Angola in Nigeria, Benin and Niger.

The message has to do with the regular bilateral and multilateral consultations of the leaders of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) , ECOWAS regions, as well as the common challenges on the continent.

“Lourenço is inviting his counterpart Tinubu, to participate in the III Edition of the Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace and Non-Violence-Luanda Biennial, taking place from Nov. 22 to 24.

“Adopted in 2015 at the 24th Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), the Biennial of Luanda will take place under the theme: “Education, culture of peace and African citizenship, as tools for the sustainable development of the continent.

“It intends to contribute to the implementation of the “Action Plan for a Culture of Peace in Africa, a joint collaboration between the Government of Angola and UNESCO,” Lourenço said.

Anthonia, who arrived in Abuja on Tuesday, delivered the message from Lourenço to Tinubu, as well as courtesy meeting with his Nigerian counterpart, Yusuf Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

.Expect more coups, Fani-Kayode tells African leaders

Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, in his reaction to the coup in Gabon, has predicted that there would be more military takeovers in French-speaking West and Central African countries in the near future.

 

Fani-Kayode in a post on his X page said he was not surprised about the coup.

 

He wrote, “BREAKING NEWS: Sadly another coup has taken place in Africa.

 

“This time it is in the nation of Gabon where President Ali Bongo who together with his late father Alhaji Bongo, had been in power for the last 53 years has been toppled and removed from office.

 

“It appears that the warning I gave in my last essay, titled, ‘Does Killing Nigerien Babies Bring Glory To Our Name?’, was prophetic.

 

“I am not surprised that this has happened and frankly we should expect more coups in the  Francophone countries of West and Central Africa for the reasons I stated in that essay.

 

“I wonder whether ECOWAS or the African Union will threaten to invade Gabon as well?”