A combined photo of Ex-president Goodluck Jonathan and Ex-president Umaro Sissoco Embalo
By Jimmy Enyeh
Former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, has said that what happened in Guinea-Bissau was not a coup but a kind of ‘arrangee’ palace coup.
Jonathan added that he was more pained than when he called late former President, Muhammadu Buhari to congratulate him after losing his reelection because he was part of the leaders and Democrats who restored democracy in Guinea-Bissau in 2013 and was available when the same democracy was truncated in Guinea-Bissau. Jonathan added that the
Guinea-Bissau’s deposed President, Umaro Sissoco Embalo addressed the media to first announce the coup and his arrest before a military officer later announced that a coup had been staged. Jonathan wondered how a President who had been overthrown and arrested would address the media and also announce the coup.
Jonathan who thanked Nigerians for their empathy and encouragement while he was stranded in Guinea-Bissau said “What happened in Guinea-Bissau was not a coup, I don’t know how to describe it, it was a Ceremonial coup, how could Embalo be the one to address the media to announce the coup and also announce his arrest. He was allowed to use his phone to address the media around the world. I was in Mali when there was an election and a coup and I saw how it took place. I feel pained more than when I lost election and had to call the late former president, Muhammadu Buhari to congratulate him because I was part of the leaders who restored democracy in Guinea-Bissau ”
NATIONAL WAVES gathered that the deposed president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, has arrived in Senegal, this is according to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Senegal’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday night that Embalo had arrived in Senegal after authorities engaged with actors in Guinea-Bissau to try to secure his release.
Embalo reached Senegal on board an aircraft chartered by the Senegalese government, it said.
“The government of the Republic of Senegal reaffirms its readiness to work alongside ECOWAS, the African Union and all relevant partners, with a view to supporting dialogue, stability and the rapid restoration of constitutional order and democratic legitimacy in this brotherly nation,” the statement said.
Embalo was deposed on Wednesday after military officers announced they had seized “total control” of Guinea-Bissau ahead of the expected release of presidential election results in the West African nation.
Embalo had been vying for re-election against his main challenger, Fernando Dias. Both had declared victory ahead of the release of the provisional results.
But the main opposition PAIGC party was barred from presenting a presidential candidate, raising criticism from civil society groups, which said the election was illegitimate.
Dubbing themselves the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order”, the military officers read out a statement on television on Wednesday, declaring that they had ordered the immediate suspension of the electoral process “until further notice”.
They also ordered the closure of Guinea-Bissau’s borders and an overnight curfew.
On Thursday, General Horta Inta-A was sworn in as the country’s transitional president, defending the military takeover by saying that there had been “sufficient [evidence] to justify the operation”.
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