President Jammeh calls for Swift return to civilian rule in Guinea

President Jammeh arrived in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, on the eve of the ECOWAS extraordinary summit summoned by the sub regional body on the issue of Guinea Conakry.

Nigeria, the current chair of the sub regional body, is spearheading campaign among the 15 constituting members of ECOWAS, calling for member countries to maintain a common stance on the issue of Guinea Conakry. At the center of the leaders’ demand is for a swift return to civilian rule. This is a view shared by the Gambian leader, Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, who told reporters in Banjul, shortly after his arrival from the Abuja Summit, that “ECOWAS had spoken unanimously”, and that the junta must return Guinea to civilian rule as soon as possible.

President Jammeh was categorical in his condemnation of leaders he said were supporting the coup “only for their selfish gains”. But although there might be division among leaders, Professor Jammeh is firm on his belief that the condemnation has a legal base as "we had a quorum to condemn it, and that is what stands."

President Jammeh also indicated that the sub regional group was ready to work with the military leadership to ensure a smooth transition. To this effect, he said, the body has tasked the commission to work with the government in Guinea to make sure that the transition to civilian rule takes place without a hitch. He stressed that the junta is obliged to abide by that decision.

At the summit in Abuja, the Prime Minister of Guinea was invited to make a submission after which he responded to questions and queries from members of the authority. The Nigerian president, Umaru Musa Yar’adua, called for "immediate restoration of democracy" in Guinea Conakry, apparently echoing the general stance of the assembled leaders.

He informed the gathering that in his capacity as the ECOWAS Chairman, he had sent a high level mission to Guinea with a special mandate to prevail on the military junta on the need to hand over power to a democratically elected government within a few months. Yar’Adua described the late Guinean leader as a patriot and illustrious son of Africa who contributed immensely towards ensuring peace and stability in the sub region.

Calling for unity among the regional leaders in their condemnation of the coup, the Nigerian leader urged his colleagues to join hands with him "to impress it on the military authorities in Conakry to hand over power as quickly as practicable and return the country to constitutional democracy." And he went on: "It is particularly necessary for all ECOWAS member states in their action and statements to be seen and to be working in tandem and not at parallel purposes.

At the end of the summit, a final communiqué was released, and it reflects the unanimous stance of the sub regional leaders. The leaders put forward a strong condemnation of the coup in conformity with the provision of its protocol on democracy and good governance, and reiterated the principled position of the body against unconstitutional accession to or maintenance of power, and Guinea was suspended from all meetings of ECOWAS at heads of state and ministerial levels, until constitutional order is restored. They also demanded from the junta for steps to ensure "immediate" restoration of constitutional order.

To facilitate the restoration of constitutional order in Guinean, the authority agreed on some measures, among which were maintenance of a permanent and constructive dialogue with the CNDD, all Guinean stakeholders and partners to ensure that immediate steps are taken to implement the recommendations towards a quick organization of elections and transfer of power to a democratically elected government.