Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday briefed President Bola Tinubu on Guinea-Bissau’s political crisis following its disputed presidential election and subsequent military takeover.
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Mr ‎Jonathan, who led the ECOWAS Observation Mission, said it was customary to update Nigeria’s leader on regional developments ahead of an expected meeting of ECOWAS Heads of State.
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‎“In ECOWAS, when you return from such assignments, you brief your president so leaders get first-hand information,” Mr Jonathan told State House correspondents after the meeting.
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‎He said the vote tallying in Guinea-Bissau had been completed and stressed that the election winner must be formally announced.
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Mr ‎Jonathan stressed the urgent need for the regional bloc to prioritise dialogue with the military authorities to prevent instability and avoid the use of force.
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‎“We’re not pushing out the military by force. People will die. ECOWAS should engage them. They know the right thing to do,” he said.
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‎He called for the immediate release of the detained opposition candidate, Fernando Diaz, saying he committed no offence and never proclaimed himself the winner.
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‎“There was no reason to arrest him. He didn’t announce himself as president. They should free him and announce the result,” Mr Jonathan said.
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The former president urged that the declared winner should be inaugurated if the military authorities agree, stating that Africa must move past frequent political crises.
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‎“We are tired of negative stories. What happened was not a palace coup. It wasn’t even close. I described it as a ceremonial coup,” he added.
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Mr Jonathan had returned to Nigeria from Guinea-Bissau on Thursday evening after being briefly trapped by the incident.
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Guinea-Bissau, with a population of about 2.2 million, has experienced recurrent coups and attempted coups since gaining independence from Portugal more than 50 years ago.

(NAN)