President Bola Tinubu has reacted to the coup in Gabon, where president Ali Bongo has been ousted from power and placed under house arrest.
The military officials who carried out the coup cited alleged irregularities in the recent election as their justification for seizing power.
They also claimed that the organisation of the general elections of August 26, 2023, didn’t meet the standards for a fair, transparent, and inclusive ballot that the people of Gabon were expecting and further cited a bunch of other governance problems that they say were leading the country down a dangerous path towards chaos.
But reacting, Tinubu’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, speaking on his behalf, said that the President is keeping a close eye on the situation in Gabon and is worried about what seems like a trend of autocratic leaders popping up in different parts of Africa.
Ngelale said the President as a man who has made significant, personal sacrifices in his own life in the course of advancing and defending democracy is of the unwavering belief that power belongs in the hands of Africa’s great people and not in the barrel of a loaded gun.
He said that Tinubu affirmed that laws and proper procedures for resolving election disputes must be upheld in Africa and rmphasized that these things are non-negotiable, and he’s working with other African leaders to make sure that the situation in Gabon doesn’t become a pattern.
“The rule of law and a faithful recourse to the constitutional resolutions and instruments of electoral dispute resolution must not at any time, be allowed to perish from the great African continent.
“To this end, the President is working very closely and continues to communicate with other Heads of States in the African Union towards a comprehensive consensus on the next steps forwards with respect to how the power in Gabon will play out and how the continent will respond to contagious autocracy we have seen spread across our continent,” he said.