President Muhammadu Buhari will lead a delegation of Heads of State of West African (ECOWAS) countries to Burkina Faso to discuss with the leader of the recent coup in the country and seek ways to reinstate the deposed interim President of the transition process, Michel Kafando.
ECOWAS leaders made the decision after an extraordinary session held in Abuja,agreeing to send a military and humanitarian observers in liason with the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) to monitor respect for human rights.
Asides President Buhari, the Heads of State to make the trip are those of Niger, Togo, Ghana, Benin and Senegal.
Their decision was made known via a communique read by the President of ECOWAS Commission, Desire Ouedraogo.
Excerpts of the communiqué read:
“They have decided to despatch tomorrow a delegation of heads of state to go to Burkina Faso to re-establish Michel Kafando in his function as president of the transition and Burkina Faso.
“They have decided that the chairman of the authority in liason with the Federal Republic of Nigeria will initiate a political dialogue among all stakeholders with a view to finding concessional solutions to the items contained in the peace accord proposal presented by President Mackey Sall and President Boni Yayi of Senegal and Benin Republic respectively.
“They called on the presidential guards to disarm and demanded the other unit of the army not to use force to avoid loss of human lives. They have also called on all the stakeholders to exercise patience and refrain from anything that can derail the national consensus.
“Finally, they have requested the AU and the international community, in the view of the fact they have proposed the reinstallment of the transitional government to lift the sanctions imposed on Burkina Faso or not to impose sanctions because we have come back to normal transitional position.
“So, we have decided also to send the military and humanitarian observers to Burkina Faso in liaison with AU and UN to monitor respect for human rights.”
