NATION

Buhari urges EU leaders to back sanctions against coup plotters

President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Brussels, Belgium called on European leaders to support sanctions against African coup plotters.
Garba Shehu, the president’s media assistant in a statement, said Buhari made the call while contributing to roundtable discussion on Peace, Security and Governance at the ongoing 6th EU-AU Summit.
“Africa has continued to witness different waves of violent extremism, community- based conflicts and inter-ethnic tensions, notably in rural areas. For many decades, our continent has been deprived of political stability and socio-economic development due to terrorism and violent extremism,” said Buhari, according to Shehu.
“More worrisome is the current state of democracy on the continent, which has become a great source of concern to many of us, with increasing cases of unconstitutional change of governments across the continent, particularly in West Africa. This is in addition to the challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic.
“The African Union has often responded to these challenges through its different structures, such as the African Peace and Security Architecture and the African Governance Architecture.
“Through enhanced collaboration with our development partners, especially the European Union, we can identify areas of cooperation for quick and substantive results.
“As leaders and policy makers, it is important for our partnership to place priority on tackling the root causes of conflicts in Africa, as well as taking measures in safeguarding peace and security, if we are to achieve the African Union Agenda 2063.
“We also call for stronger support from the European Union in the condemnation and imposition of weighty sanctions on countries that engage in unconstitutional change of governments, as well as manipulation of constitutions in favor of extension of term limits,” he said.
The Nigerian leader added that it was imperative to ensure that election processes in Africa have outcomes that truly reflect the wishes of the electorate, as to go contrary to these is courting instability.
According to him, “we have a responsibility to reduce conflicts that stem from lack of good governance, unaccountability, corruption and social exclusion.
“Free, fair, credible and transparent elections remain crucial elements in ensuring peace and security, and promoting constitutional order, democracy and inclusive governance on the continent.
“It is therefore imperative for our partnership to also focus on strengthening election processes in Africa and prevent interference to influence the process and outcomes of elections.”

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