By Egena Sunday Ode
The ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government held yesterday in Accra, Ghana to review the political situations in Guinea and Mali, has decided to maintain the sanctions imposed on Guinea and impose similar ones against the Mali Transitional Government.
This was disclosed in a statement by the media office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
A Communique issued at the end of the 3rd Extraordinary Summit on Guinea and Mali attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, according to the statement, stated that “the Authority decides to uphold the suspension of the Republic of Guinea from all ECOWAS governing bodies as well as the travel ban and freeze on financial assets imposed on the members of the CNRD and their family members until constitutional order is restored,” in the country.
Similarly, regarding Mali, the ECOWAS leaders at a meeting presided over by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana and Chair of the ECOWAS Authority resolved that in “conformity with the decision taken on 16th September 2021, the Authority decides to impose sanctions with immediate effect against individuals and groups who have been identified, including the entire transition authorities and the other transition institutions.
“These sanctions will also be imposed on the members of their families. The sanctions include a travel ban and a freeze on their financial assets. It further instructs the President of the Commission to consider and propose additional sanctions at its next Ordinary Session on 12th December 2021, should the situation persist,” it added.
The ECOWAS Summit attended by leaders from 13 countries then called “on the African Union, the United Nations, and the bilateral and other multilateral partners to endorse and support the implementation of these sanctions.”
Speaking to the media at the end of the Summit, Prof. Osinbajo noted that African countries have gone far beyond military coup as a means of changing political actors and that coups are unacceptable, the statement signed by Laolu Akande said.
He added that ECOWAS Heads of State and Government will continue to prevail on the military juntas in Guinea and Mali to return their countries to democratic rule.
According to the VP, “one of the important points that the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government make is that coups and coups de’tat generally are just completely unacceptable….and that we cannot continue to have a situation where they are tolerated for the simple reason that in Africa, West Africa in particular, we’ve gone way beyond military coups as an answer to the question of change in political actors.”
Continuing, Prof. Osinbajo said, “there is a very strong feeling amongst the Heads of State that we must insist, that other international bodies: the UN, EU, and other regional groups must support the impositions of sanctions on individuals and groups that choose not to follow the democratic process of change of government and choose to go by way of coup de‘tat.”
Referring to the situations in Guinea and Mali, the Vice President said “it appears from all indications that much progress has been made in Guinea, although we are still concerned that there ought to be much more clarity on transition.
“But Mali is a much more difficult situation, there is much concern because very little progress had been made.”
President of Ghana and Chair of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had earlier briefed the meeting on the outcome of a high-powered delegation led by himself to Guinea and Mali on the 17th of September and the 17th of October respectively, as part of the resolutions of the previous Summit held on the 16th of September this year.
At the end of the Extraordinary Summit, the ECOWAS communique stated that “the Authority endorsed the main recommendations contained in the memorandum on the political situation in the Republic of Guinea and the report on the political situation in the Republic of Mali.”
