The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will chair a virtual emergency Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) meeting to deliberate on happenings in Guinea today, September 8, 2021.

President Akufo-Addo, who is the Chairperson of ECOWAS, will lead his colleague Heads of State to address the coup that has climbed the regime of Alpha Conde.

This was announced by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin.

He said the meeting will try to find a lasting solution to the Guinea crisis.

According to him, ECOWAS will also use the opportunity to reaffirm its belief that “ballots and not the bullets should be the only legitimate means of effecting change in the political leadership of any country within the ECOWAS community.”

“The president will chair an emergency virtual summit of heads of state and governments of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) basically to reaffirm the long term held belief that the ballots and not the bullets should be the only legitimate means of effecting change in the political leadership of any country within the ECOWAS community.”

About the Guinea coup
After gunfire in Guinea’s capital, a group of soldiers announced the dissolution of the constitution, the closure of the borders, and a nationwide curfew in a broadcast on state TV on Sunday evening [September 4, 2021].

The soldiers, led by a Special Forces Colonel, Mamady Doumbouya, had said regional governors had been replaced by military commanders and that Mr. Condé was under arrest.

The UN, African Union, and ECOWAS have condemned the coup and called for a return to civilian rule.

The coup in Guinea was the fourth attempted coup in West Africa in the last year with two military takeovers in Mali and a failed coup in Niger.