President Akufo Addo wants members of parliament in the commonwealth countries to speak against military takeovers in Africa.
Nana Akuo Addo said democracy is currently under attack following the unconstitutional change of government in some African countries.
In July 2023, members of Niger’s presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum inside his palace and appeared on national television saying they were seizing power to end the “deteriorating security situation and bad governance.”
Days later the junta declared the head of the presidential guard, Abdourahamane Tiani, the new head of state, raising concerns about the security of a region where Niger has been a key ally of Western powers seeking to contain insurgencies by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
August 30, 2023, a group of senior military officers in Gabon announced on national television that, they had taken power and election results were annulled, just minutes after President Ali Bongo was declared to have won a third term.
If successful the coup would represent the eighth since 2020 in West and Central Africa, a region that in the last decade had made strides to shed its reputation as a “coup belt”, only for persistent insecurity and corruption to open the door to military leaders.
Speaking at the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Accra, Nana Akufo Addo said MPs must be agents of democracy.
Story by: Osei Akoto / Ahotoronline.com
