On the eve of a new ECOWAS summit regarding the military coup in Niamey, the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, declared on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, that the existence of the community was at stake in the Nigerien crisis.
Indeed, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the President of Guinea-Bissau, considers the situation of ECOWAS in the Nigerien crisis to be “very concerning,” as a new summit of the organization is scheduled for this Thursday to discuss the military coup in Niger. While boarding the plane to Abuja, he told journalists that President Mohamed Bazoum, deposed by the Nigerien military, was the only legitimate leader.
“If you don’t want a government or a president, sanction them through the ballot box… Coups d’état must be prohibited,” he emphasized, pointing out that following coups in three other ECOWAS member states since 2020, the future of the regional bloc is in jeopardy. Furthermore, he affirmed, “The situation that ECOWAS is facing is truly worrying. This organization has been the safest, the most solid on the entire continent. Today, we risk making it disappear. I don’t think we’ll reach that point.”
As a reminder, Umaro Sissoco Embalo stated that if ECOWAS decided on a military intervention in Niger, the Guinean-Bissau Parliament would not have to pronounce itself on the deployment of troops, and it could do so after a meeting of the National Defense Council, a body that advises him on security matters.
