Security Analyst, Emmanuel Kutin, has applauded President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his swift action following the second military takeover in Mali within a year.
President Akufo-Addo, who is also the Chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, at an emergency ECOWAS Summit on Mali at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra yesterday made a call to Heads of State and Government in West Africa to remain resolute in their support for the people of Mali for them to find a peaceful solution to the political challenges.
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Reacting to this development, Emmanuel Kutin told Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show: “We have to commend our president for the swift response. In fact, the extraordinary summit they convened yesterday was a step in the right direction.”
The security analyst, however, cautioned that with this step taken to correct issues a second time, “we cannot continue to do the same things and expect different results”.
The emergency ECOWAS Summit on Mali at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra yesterday was attended by 10 Heads of State and two foreign ministers. Just after the opening ceremony, the meeting went into camera.
Presidents who attended the summit were General Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau, Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’lvoire, Adama Barrow of The Gambia, Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria and Marc Christian Kabore of Burkina Faso.
The rest were Presidents Mohamed Bazoum of Niger; Faure Essizimna Gnassingbe of Togo and George Manneh Weah of Liberia.
Background
Nine months after overthrowing President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in the wake of mass anti-government protests, the army led by Col Assimi Goïta detained President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane just hours after the announcement of a new cabinet that excluded two key military leaders.
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Col Assimi Goïta says President Bah Ndaw and PM Moctar Ouane failed in their duties and were seeking to sabotage the country’s transition.
The UN chief, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), the EU and the US have all said that the president and prime minister be released without any preconditions.