President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the coup in Mali which saw the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, is a setback for regional diplomacy in West Africa and called for a continental resolution to the crisis.
This was announced via a social media broadcast by the President on Thursday afternoon.
Rebel soldiers who had earlier arrested Mali’s President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita took over the government and assured citizens of fresh elections to resolve a spiraling political crisis in the fragile West African nation.
The soldiers forced Keita to resign on Tuesday and dissolved parliament hours after the President and the Prime Minister Boubou Cisse were detained at gunpoint.
President Buhari said that the events in Mali are “with grave consequences for the peace and security of West Africa”, and urged the “unconstitutional ‘authority” in the West African nation to act responsibly and ensure a constitutional restoration of order to achieve peace and stability.
“Nigeria strongly supports the efforts of ECOWAS Chairman, President Mahamadou Issoufou, for wider regional and continental consultations with ECOWAS, the AU and the UN, and the adoption of strong measures to bring speedy resolution to the situation,” President Buhari added.
President Buhari also said that a stable political climate in Mali is important for the total stability of the region and lobbies the efforts of AU, UN and ECOWAS to come to a joint solution “until sanity returns to Mali with the restoration of Civil Administration”.
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