Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday briefed President Bola Tinubu on Guinea-Bissau’s political crisis following its disputed presidential election and subsequent military takeover.
Jonathan, who led the ECOWAS Observation Mission, said it was customary to update Nigeria’s leader on regional developments ahead of an expected meeting of ECOWAS Heads of State.
“In ECOWAS, when you return from such assignments, you brief your president so leaders get first-hand information,” Jonathan told State House correspondents after the meeting.
He said tallying of votes in Guinea-Bissau had been concluded and stressed that the winner of the election must be formally announced.
Jonathan stressed the urgent need for the regional bloc to prioritise dialogue with the military authorities to prevent instability and avoid the use of force.
“We’re not pushing out the military by force. People will die. ECOWAS should engage them. They know the right thing to do,” he said.
He called for the immediate release of the detained opposition candidate, Fernando Diaz, saying he committed no offence and never proclaimed himself winner.
“There was no reason to arrest him. He didn’t announce himself as president. They should free him and announce the result,” Jonathan said.
Jonathan urged that the declared winner should be inaugurated if the military authorities agree, stating that Africa must move past frequent political crises.
“We are tired of negative stories. What happened was not a palace coup. It wasn’t even close. I described it as a ceremonial coup,” he added.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jonathan had returned to Nigeria from Guinea-Bissau on Thursday evening after being briefly trapped by the incident.
Guinea-Bissau, with a population of about 2.2 million, has experienced recurrent coups and attempted coups since gaining independence from Portugal more than 50 years ago.
