President Muhammadu Buhari says ECOWAS leaders while making decisions on the political situations in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea must consider the victims of unconstitutional changes of government and the adverse consequences of isolation on them.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media & Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President spoke on Saturday in Accra, Ghana at the 6th Extraordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State on the political situations in the three countries.
The President expressed concern that since the last Summit of ECOWAS leaders on March 25 this year, not much has been achieved in terms of having an acceptable timetable for the conduct of elections to restore democratic rule in the affected countries.
”The deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Mali and Burkina Faso should be a source of serious concern to us as leaders in the region. As you may be aware, the world is still recovering from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, which wrecked the global economy.
”While our economies begin to recover, the impact of the war between Russia and Ukraine has led to a surge in prices of many commodities including foodstuffs.
”We are, therefore, left with no option but to devise means of sustaining our economies by becoming more creative and evolving in finding other channels of demand and supply, to ensure that we cushion the effect of the war and prevent our economies from collapsing, and our people remain productive.
”We must, therefore, ensure that, in whatever decision we take, we must remember the mass of the populations in the affected countries, who are victims of the unconstitutional change of government and the adverse consequences of isolation brought about,” he said.
