President Bola Tinubu on Saturday in Nairobi, Kenya, called on African leaders to respect democracy, rule of law, and ensure political stability.
He said this at a high-level event organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the margins of Fifth Mid-Year African Union (AU) Coordination Meeting.
The President urged African military institutions and states to recognise and respect the need for democratic renewal.
Tinubu, who is also the Chairperson of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, said coup d’état should be discouraged in the continent, especially in the face of challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, insecurity, and climate change.
The President, in his statement, presented by Ambassador Adamu Ibrahim Lamuwa, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, decried that West Africa, in spite of its numerous instruments and mechanisms for promoting democracy and good governance, is leading other regions in the use of unconstitutional means to change governments.
He warned that the ugly trend of the military straying into the political arena is causing threats to peace, security and stability, and engendering poverty, displacement, and humanitarian crises.
”This ugly trend has only succeeded in threatening the peace, security and stability of the sub-region and by extension the African continent, leaving in its trail poverty, internally-displaced persons and humanitarian crisis. In the same vein, this ugly trend has also led to food shortages and escalated health challenges.
