President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the coup attempt in Ethiopia last Saturday and urged all concerned to exercise maximum restraint and avoid any action that could undermine the peace, unity and stability of the country.
In a statement he issued in his capacity as Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, President Buhari also expressed the sub-region’s deep sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims of the coup attempt and to the people and Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
He reaffirmed “the imperative for the adherence to relevant African Union Instruments, principally the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the Lomé Declaration on the Unconstitutional Change of Government,” while stressing commitment “to the ideals of the African Union on Democracy, Elections and Good Governance adopted at the Eighth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2007.”
Full text of the statement reads:
STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF ECOWAS AUTHORITY OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT, H.E. PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI ON THE FAILED COUP ATTEMPT IN ETHIOPIA
In my capacity as the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government and on behalf of our Regional Organisation, we strongly condemn the coup attempt in the Amhara Region and the tragic events in the capital of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, on Saturday 22 June, 2019.
We express our deep sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims of the coup attempt and to the people and Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
We reaffirm the imperative for the adherence to relevant African Union Instruments, principally the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the Lomé Declaration on the Unconstitutional Change of Government.
We are committed to the ideals of the African Union on Democracy, Elections and Good Governance adopted at the Eighth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2007.
We urge all concerned to exercise maximum restraint and avoid any action that could undermine the peace, unity and stability of Ethiopia.
At this trying period, we also convey our full solidarity to the people and Government of Ethiopia.
We finally reiterate our respect for the sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity of Ethiopia.
Muhammadu Buhari
President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
25th June 2019
