Tinubu Expresses Deep Concern About Coup in Gabon

* Declares power belongs to people and not barrel of a loaded gun

* Holds telephone conversation with Canadian PM on developments in Gabon, Niger

Deji Elumoye in Abuja 

Nigeria has officially reacted to the reported unconstitutional change of government in neighbouring Republic of Gabon.

Soldiers were reported on Wednesday morning to have staged a coup in Libreville, the Gabonese capital, and toppled the government of President Ali Bongo in the Central African nation.

Addressing newsmen Wednesday at the State House, Abuja, presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has expressed deep concern over the coup d’etat in Gabon.

He said the president has a firm belief in the fact that power lies in the hands of African people and not in the barrel of a loaded gun.

According to him, President Tinubu is in constant touch with fellow African leaders on how best to address the recurring autocratic tendencies blowing across the African continent.

Ngelale’s words: “President Bola Tinubu is watching developments in Gabon very closely with deep concern for the country’s social political stability and at the seeming autocratic contagion apparently spreading across different regions of our beloved continent. 

“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.

“The president affirms that 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 our great continent.

“To this end, the president is working very closely and continuing to communicate with other Heads of State in the African Union and beyond towards a comprehensive consensus on the next steps forward with respect to how the crisis in Gabon will play out and how the continent will respond to the contagion of autocracy we are seeing spread across our continent.”

The presidential spokesperson also disclosed that President Tinubu on Wednesday afternoon had a fruitful telephone conversation with the Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudseau over the coup in Gabon and last month’s unconstitutional change of government in Niger Republic.

Ngelale said the two leaders agreed to promote and protect constitutional orders in the African continent. 

His words: “The president has had substantive extended discussions with the Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudseau where issues related to the crisis in Niger Republic and the unfolding situation in Gabon were discussed. 

“The two Heads of State mutually agreed that the promotion and protection of constitutional democratic governance on the continent remains a paranoid priority and that the people of Africa living in the diaspora around the world making a huge impact to the social political landscapes of countries around the world and the economies of countries around the world continue to urge on the global community to advance the course of democracy on the continent for the sake of the economic prosperity of all Africans. 

“So, it is of frontline importance to understand that President Bola Tinubu would continue to engage with Heads of State not just only in the African Union but also around world and those communications and engagements are on-going.”