FG says fmr President Jonathan safe, out of Guinea-Bissau
The Federal Government has said that former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was safe and out of Guinea-Bissau, following the military coup that toppled the civilian administration which was led by President Umaro Embalo.
This was made known on Thursday by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, during an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
“Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is very safe and out of Guinea-Bissau. He left with a special flight with members of his delegation, including Mohamed Chambas,” Ebienfa said.
The Federal Government had earlier in a statement by the Ministry on Thursday condemned the military coup in Guinea-Bissau, stating that it represented a serious threat to democracy and regional stability, while describing the development as a violation of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
Jonathan had led members of the West African Elders Forum to monitor the presidential and parliamentary elections which held in the country on Sunday.
The election observation missions to Guinea-Bissau, set up by the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Elders Forum, had condemned the military coup.
In a statement signed by the respective Heads of the missions, Filipe Nyusi, Issifu Kamara, and Goodluck Jonathan, the development was described as “a blatant attempt to disrupt the democratic process” in Guinea-Bissau, while calling on AU and ECOWAS to take necessary steps to restore constitutional order.
“We express deep concern with the announcement of coup d’etat by the armed forces, while the nation was waiting for the announcement of the results.
“It is regrettable that this announcement came at a time when the missions had just concluded meeting with the two leading presidential candidates, who assured us of their willingness to accept the will of the people.
“We deplore this blatant attempt to disrupt the democratic process and the gains that we have achieved thus far. We request the African Union and the ECOWAS to take the necessary steps to restore constitutional order,” the statement had read.
Citizens of Guinea-Bissau who had gone to the polls on Saturday, woke up to a rude shock when military officers announced on Wednesday that they were taking “total control of the country, suspending its electoral process and closing its borders.”
The current President of the country Umaro Embalo, who is contesting in the presidential race, and the opposition candidate, Fernando Dias, also a frontrunner in the election, had both declared separate victories before the coup.
General Denis N’Canha, Head of the Presidential Military Office, later told members of the press that a command “composed of all branches of the armed forces, was taking over the leadership of the country until further notice”.
N’Canha who claimed to have discovered a plan to destabilise the country, including “the introduction of weapons into the country to alter the constitutional order”, stated that the entire electoral process had been halted, all media programming suspended, and a mandatory curfew imposed.
