We Need A Civilian Leadership In Mali's Transition – Akufo-Addo

Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Akufo-Addo says the military leadership in Mali will be pressurised to hand over to a civilian-led government.

Nana Akufo-Addo said ECOWAS is unhappy with the development in Mali and will ensure it is resolved.

Speaking to journalists after Tuesday's ECOWAS emergency meeting at the Peduase Lodge, Nana Akufo-Addo said the crisis cannot be allowed to escalate hence the deliberate intervention by ECOWAS leaders.

“We need a civilian leadership in the transition, and we have also made it clear that the minute that leadership is put in place through the processes that they have agreed on, in a week’s time the mediator will be back, and we will go to Bamako to see the state at play.”

A military coup in Mali last month ousted former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita over what the coup makers described as economic hardship.

Mali eventually witnessed a series of protests which led to the removal of its President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on August 18, 2020, by a military junta.

The former President faced allegations of corruption and poor management of the economy.

President Akufo-Addo and seven other ECOWAS leaders met at the Peduase Lodge on September 15, 2020, to find a lasting solution to the political crisis in Mali.

---citinewsroom