President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that he hopes there will be a smooth transition of political power in Chad following the murder of the President of Chad Idriss Déby.

Mr Akufo-Addo who is Chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said Idriss Déby was a very courteous and pleasant man, and he will be missed by all who had the opportunity of knowing him.

In a tweet, Mr Akufo-Addo said “I have been saddened by the news of the tragic death of the Chadian leader, Idriss Déby Itno. My last encounter with him was in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo, a few days ago, where we both attended the swearing-in of President Denis Sassou Nguesso.”

“As fate would have it, it was to be our last. He was a very courteous and pleasant man, and he will be missed by all who had the opportunity of knowing him. Hopefully, there will be a smooth transition of political power in Chad.”

“The Ghanaian people and I send our deepest condolences to his widow and family, and to the good people of Chad on their great loss. Africa has lost a devoted son, and may his soul rest in perfect peace.”

Meanwhile, Professor Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, Director, Faculty of Academic Affairs & Research (FAAR), at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, (KAIPTC) has noted that the murder of Idriss Déby may result in political instability in that country and its neighbours.

The international media reported on Tuesday April 20 that Mr Deby died of injuries he suffered on the frontline in the Sahel country’s north, where he had gone to visit soldiers battling rebels, an army spokesman said on Tuesday.

Deby, 68, “has just breathed his last defending the sovereign nation on the battlefield” over the weekend, army spokesman General Azem Bermandoa Agouna said in a statement read out on state television.

The army said Deby had been commanding his army at the weekend as it battled against rebels who had launched a major incursion into the north of the country on Election Day.

The army said a military council led by the late president’s 37-year-old son Mahamat Idriss Deby, a four-star general, would replace him. A curfew has been imposed and the country’s borders have been shut in the wake of the sudden death of the president, army said.

Speaking on this development in an interview with Dzifa Bampoh on the First Take on 3FM Tuesday, April 20, Professor Aning said “Those who live by the guns, they will die by the gun.

“This man’s road on the Chaldean political front has been disastrous. The management of the economy has destroyed lives.”

He added “What we are going to see is a replay of what happened in the 70s and the 80s. We are going to experience a long period of instability that may possibly spread to the neighboring countries.”