President Muhammadu Buhari, as Chairman, ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, has sent Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama as a Special Envoy to Bamako Mali to discuss the political situation in the county. Onyeama was accompanied by President of the ECOWAS Commission Jean -Claude Kassi Brou.
Ms Sarah Sanda, the Special Assistant, Media to Foreign Affairs Minister, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. She said the delegation was in Mali ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections.
The elections had initially been slated for Oct. 28, but they were postponed by the government till Nov. 25, followed by a run-off on Dec. 16 in constituencies where no candidate wins outright. Last week, Mali’s constitutional court reportedly delayed the country’s parliamentary elections until 2019 by extending the mandate of lawmakers for six months.
According to Sanda, the team on arrival in Bamako met with Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General Mahamat Saleh Annadit. The delegation, she said, met with the Representatives of the African Union and European Union, as well as Ambassadors of France and The Netherlands.
She said that the delegation also met with the main opposition leader and Presidential Candidate Soumaila Cisse, who lost to incumbent President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in a second-round runoff vote held on August 12. The delegation also met with Malian Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga, and President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita with some Cabinet Ministers in attendance.
She said that Onyeama delivered President Buhari’s message to all the stakeholders in all the meetings. Onyeama said that Buhari as Chairman of ECOWAS called on Malian authorities to ensure “inclusivity in nation building and politics” as the country prepares for parliamentary elections. ”It has to be all about the country, people, development and good governance.
”We begin to have problems when it starts to be about individuals so he wanted us to communicate this message,” he said. Onyeama said that Buhari’s message was very well received as the Malians have a lot of respect for him and want him to play a role in shepherding the country forward. NAN
