ECOWAS chairman, President Alassane Ouattara of Cote
d’Ivoire, said on Thursday that some of the Nigerian troops to Mali would be
withdrawn to “because of the domestic situation in the country”.
Ouattara made this known in an
interview with journalists at the end of the two-day 43rd Ordinary Session of
the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja.
“I received a letter from President Goodluck
Jonathan that because of domestic situation in Nigeria part of the troops will
be withdrawn.
“Nigeria needs some of its people but
not all are being withdrawn,” he said.
Ouattara also said that elections
would be held in Mali on the set dates and assured of the region’s support for
the process.
“Mali is ready for elections; you do
not have perfect elections because there are problems.
“Mali needs a legitimate government
and they should have this election on July 28 for the first round and Aug. 11
for the second.
“By the end of August, we would have
a democratically elected government, “ he said.
The ECOWAS Authority of Heads of
State and Government also came up with decisions to tackle the recurrence of
crises in the sub-region.
The decisions are contained in a
communiqué read by the ECOWAS Commission President, Mr Kadre Ouedraogo.
The Authority of Heads of State and
Government instructed the commission to expedite action on the review of peace
and security in the region to prevent recurring crises situations.
The Authority noted that a review of
the regional peace and security framework would also focus on preventive
measures and “rapid military response capability.”
It commended
the effort of the Malian government and people for the efforts to ensure a
peaceful transition and appealed to all political parties and candidates
to ``demonstrate self-restraint, accept the outcome of the polls and resort to legal means if disputes arise”.
On Guinea Bissau, the Authority
decided to extend the mandate of the ECOWAS Security Mission to Guinea Bissau
(ECOMIB) from May 17, 2013 till May 16 2014.
The 620-strong contingent drawn from
Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Senegal would be expected to fulfil its mandate of
facilitating the restoration of constitutional rule in the country.
The Authority urged the authorities
of Guinea Bissau to ``adopt the most appropriate and efficient methods to
ensure elections hold on the stipulated date of Nov. 24.
''The Authority also condemned the
acts of terrorism and piracy that occurred in some member states and instructed
the commission to expedite action on the implementation of the ECOWAS
counter-terrorism strategy.
The Authority reiterated its
commitment to combat challenges to maritime safety and security in the Gulf of
Guinea and resolved to adopt a 15-member commission and allocate statutory
positions in accordance with the new structure of the commission.
Tags
Politics