Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Wednesday, met with
President Muhammadu Buhari to brief him about the peace mission of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to Mali.
According to a statement by Femi Adesina, presidential
spokesman, the meeting held ahead of an extraordinary virtual summit by ECOWAS
heads of state and leaders, scheduled for Friday.
Jonathan had led an ECOWAS delegation to Mali on Saturday to
negotiate the release of President Ibrahim Keita and the restoration of constitutional
government.
The delegation met with the military junta that deposed Keita.
Jonathan said the delegation told the junta, who had asked
to stay in power for three years, that ECOWAS would only allow an interim
government, headed by a civilian or retired military officer, to last for six
months or a maximum of a year.
He also said the military leaders want ECOWAS to lift the
sanctions placed on Mali “as it was already affecting the country”.
“We asked them to allow ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar
Keita to return to his personal residence, where he would be given tight
security, but they said he could travel abroad, and not return to answer
questions they may have for him,” Jonathan was quoted to have said.
“We also told them that what would be acceptable to ECOWAS
was an Interim Government, headed by a civilian or retired military officer, to
last for six or nine months and a maximum of 12 calendar months.
“The Interim Government would then organise elections to
restore full constitutional order.”
Jonathan disclosed that his team was allowed to meet with
the ousted president, who confirmed that he resigned voluntarily, adding that
he was no longer interested in his former position.
On his part, Buhari advised that Mali’s security should be
prioritised rather than pursuing individual interests.
“About two-thirds of Mali is occupied by terrorists, and it
makes common sense to secure the country, rather than pursuing individual
interests,” Buhari said.
The president said the sub-region would take a common
position on the issue when the leaders meet on Friday, hoping that an amicable
and generally acceptable position to all interested parties would be arrived
at.
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com