A one-day extraordinary ECOWAS Summit opens on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa at Peduase, near Aburi in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
The Summit is expected to discuss ways of helping to resolve the governance crisis in Mali, according to the report by Graphic newspaper on Tuesday,
The report noted that Presidents S.E. Patrice Talon of Benin, Roch Marc Christian Kabore of Burkina Faso, Jorge Carlos Fonseca of Cabo Verde, Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire, Adama Barrow of The Gambia and Alpha Conde of Guinea are among the Heads of State and Governments of ECOWAS who will attend today’s meeting at Peduase.
Others are Presidents Maro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea Bissau, George Manneh Weah of Liberia, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger and Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, Presidents Macky Sall of Senegal, Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone and Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe of Togo.
The report added that the deposed Malian President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, will not attend the summit, convened by the Chairman of ECOWAS and President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, but the military junta in Mali, led by Colonel Assimi Goita, which seized power on August 18, this year, will be at the summit.
According to the report, President Akufo-Addo, who will steer affairs at today’s summit, will stress the need for the restoration of peace and stability in Mali and the discussions will also touch on how to quickly appoint civilians to form a transitional government towards the restoration of democratic rule in not more than 12 months.
This is because stability in Mali is germane to West African peace, as jihadist elements had used that country as a launchpad to foment trouble in other West African countries, including Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire.
The report recalled that at the 57th Ordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority in Niamey, Niger, held on Monday, September 7, this year, the Heads of State reaffirmed their determination to ensure that constitutional order was quickly restored in Mali, with a political transition led by a civilian President and a Prime Minister for 12 months.
GIK/APA