Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has urged leaders in West Africa not to elongate their tenures in office because such moves sparked trouble in the region, according to his spokesperson.
Garba Shehu, the official spokesperson to the president, said Buhari had made the remarks in his address at the 57th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in Niamey, Niger.
President Buhari asks West African leaders to stop elongating their tenure in office, saying it is becoming a source of trouble. #PMBinNiger pic.twitter.com/60UPp6fUaL
— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) September 7, 2020
Buhari arrived in Niamey on Monday ahead of the Summit also attended by his fellow West African leaders.
“As leaders of our individual Member-States of ECOWAS, we need to adhere to the constitutional provisions of our countries, particularly on term limits. This is one area that generates crisis and political tension in our sub-region,” Shehu quotes Buhari.
The 77-year-old is serving a second term in office, having won the 2019 elections against his closes rival Atiku Abubakar.
Top of the agenda in Monday’s ECOWAS Summit at the Mahatma Gandhi International Conference Centre was the political crisis in Mali as well the COVID-19 situation in the region.
Additionally, the leaders were also expected to consider reports form the 44th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council at the Ministerial Level, and the 84th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, which preceded the Summit.
Among the leaders who travelled to Niamey for the Summit include Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari, Ghana’s Nana Akufo-Addo, Senegal’s Macky Sall and Gambia’s Adama Barrow.
