President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Envoy to Guinea Bissau, led by Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, has expressed optimism that the legislative crisis in the country would end soon.
Onyeama, in a video clip made available to journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, said the parties involved in Guinea Bissau legislative crisis had pledged their commitment to peace.
The minister said that the parties made the commitment after meeting with the ECOWAS Chairman, President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Envoy in Bissau, the country’s capital on Wednesday.
Guinea Bissau has been embroiled in political crisis after the country’s legislative election on March 10 over power sharing in the legislature between the ruling party and the opposition.
Due to the political crisis, the Chairman of ECOWAS, President Muhammadu Buhari, directed that the issues be resolved immediately by the sub-regional body.
Onyeama, who is also the Chairman, ECOWAS Council of Ministers, led the ECOWAS peace delegation.
He expressed optimism that with the commitments made by all the parties, the issues would be resolved soon.
“President Muhammadu Buhari directed us to come here and nip this in the bud – sort this out very quickly.
“We have had excellent discussions with all the main protagonists – the President, the Prime Minister and the leaders of all the political parties.
“We are very happy with the way it went, and commitments that were made and we believe that if those commitments are respected and kept, this problem will be over in a matter of a week or two,” he said.
The delegation met with the President of Guinea Bissau, Jose Mario Vaz; the Prime Minister Aristides Gomez; President of the National Assembly, Mr. Cipriano Cassama and various parliamentary groups in the country’s National Assembly.
Other members of the peace delegation, led by Mr. Onyeama are Mr. Naby Kiridi Bangoura, Minister of State and Secretary General of the Presidency in Guinea Conakry, representing Alpha Conde; President of Guinea Conakry, who is also the Chairman, ECOWAS Mediation Committee on Guinea Bissau and the President of ECOWAS Commission, Jean –Claude Kassi Brou.
MM/GIK/APA