BREAKING: Tinubu Applauds Ghanaian President’s Diplomatic Mission To Sahel Nations
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday received his Ghanaian counterpart, John Mahama at the State House in Abuja, applauding his recent visit to the three Sahel nations.
Tinubu, in his capacity as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, stressed that his diplomatic efforts aimed to improve the security landscape in the Sahel region and foster economic opportunities across West Africa.
Mahama was at the Presidential Villa to brief the ECOWAS Chairman regarding his diplomatic efforts with the military junta leaders of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, aimed at addressing regional security and stability.
Responding, Tinubu said his talks with the three AES were essential to safeguarding lives and fostering prosperity across the region.
“I feel good that he is here in the first place. I am indeed very happy with the efforts he has made to have a bridge between the AES countries and the ECOWAS. It’s not a bad idea for us because of the security situation in the Sahel region and what economic opportunity that we must embark to ensure security of lives and prosperity of our citizens,” Tinubu said.
“The innocent people in this episode are the citizens of those countries not much about us the leadership. The citizens must be the first beneficiary and the first point of reasons together.”
On his part, the Ghanaian President said he visited his Nigerian counterpart to update him on emerging issues from his diplomatic talks with the military leaders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Mahama acknowledged the complexities of the regional issue but assured that with continued constructive dialogue all pending issues between the Alliance of Sahel States and the Economic Community of West African States will be resolved.
“I came to thank him for the honour done me during my inauguration but also to brief him on the visits to the sahealean countries Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger and to bring him up to date with some of the issues and to discuss with him. As ECOWAS chairman, its my duty to come and brief him on the some of the concerns that were raised there so that we continue to dialogue with those other countries.
“Well it’s a complicated situation and it’s not as easy as we think. We just need to continue to dialogue and see how we can continue to dialogue together,” Mahama stated.
Earlier, ECOWAS maintained a position of openness towards the three AES states—Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger despite their official withdrawal from the bloc.
The regional bloc extended a six-month grace period, allowing these countries to reconsider their decision and potentially rejoin the community.
