The President of Nigeria and newly elected chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Bola Tinubu, has vowed to stop the occurrence of military overtakes in the sub-region.

Speaking at the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government on Sunday in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, where he was elected, Tinubu said that that the community cannot continue to look on as its member states are ridden by coups.

He added that democracy is the best form of government for African countries and must be protected.

“We would not allow coup after coup in the West Africa sub-region. We would take this up seriously with African Union and extend it to the European Union and Britain and America.

“Democracy is very tough to manage but it is the best form of government and we all ascribe to it. We must bite back. We can’t sit like toothless bulldogs in ECOWAS,” the Nigerian president said in his acceptance speech.

In a unanimous endorsement of ECOWAS heads of state, President Bola Tinubu emerged as the new chairman of the community at the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government held on July 9, 2023.

Tinubu would be succeeding the President of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Embalo, as ECOWAS chair.

Watch Tinubu’s remarks in the video below:



BAI/OGB

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