President Bola Ahmed Tinubu held a telephone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau about a possible way forward following the overthrow of Gabon Ali Bongo by the country’s military.
Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) in a tweet disclosed that Tinubu, who is chairman Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and Trudeau spoke on Wednesday.
Presidency said Tinubu is working closely with other Heads of State in the African Union towards a comprehensive consensus on the next steps forward.
Gabon military announced on television that they had canceled the country’s election and had seized power.
The coup in Gabon came as the country was rounding off voting in the general election that took place on August 26 general elections.
Described as the CTRI (Committee of Transition and Restoration of Institutions), the military officers based their actions on the grave political crises rocking the country due to irresponsible governance.
“Today, our country is going through a grave political crisis due to irresponsible, unforeseeable governance that has resulted in the steady degradation of social cohesion which risks leading the country to chaos.
“So, we have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the regime in power”, they said.
The coup ended the reign of President Ali Bongo, who has been in office since 2009 when he succeeded his Father, Omar Bongo.
Bongo, who was seeking a third term in office, was declared the winner by Gabon’s electoral umpire with 64 percent of the total votes cast at Saturday’s election.
The military has also announced the closure of the border till further notice and that it has dissolved all state institutions, including the Parliament, the electoral commission, the constitutional court, and the Presidency.
The Guardian
