President Tinubu deeply concerned about Gabon coup – Ngelale
President Bola Tinubu has expressed concern over Wednesday’s coup in Gabon, where military officers overthrew the civilian government of President Ali Bongo and placed him under house arrest.
It is the latest coup in Africa, weeks after mutinous troops seized power in Niger.
Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, told State House Correspondents that Tinubu would consult with other Heads of State and Government in the African Union on the Gabon crisis to determine the way forward.
“President Bola Tinubu is watching closely with deep concern for the country’s social and political stability and at the seeming autocratic contention apparently spreading across different regions of our beloved continent.
“The president as a man who has made significant sacrifices in his life in the course of advancing and defending democracy is of the belief that power belongs in the hands of Africa’s great people and not in the barrel of a loaded gun,’’ he said.
Gabon is the fifth largest oil producing nation in Africa, and is rich in other natural resources which helped drive its strong growth.
The country’s oil sector accounts for 50 per cent of its GDP and 80 per cent of its exports.
Ngelale said the president affirmed that the rule of law and recourse to the constitutional resolutions and instruments of electoral dispute needed to be used in matters of democratic challenges.
“To this end, the President is working very closely and continues to communicate with other Heads of States in the African Union.
“This is towards a comprehensive consensus on the next steps forwards with respect to how the power in Gabon will play out and how the continent will respond to contagious autocracy spreading across the continent,” he said.
The military officers who overthrew Bongo, also announced the cancellation of “all the institutions of the republic”.
The army officers are said to be meeting later on Wednesday to decide who would lead the transition authority.
