President Tinubu Condemns Coup Action in Gabon 

President Bola Tinubu responds to the coup in Gabon, expressing his reaction to the ousting of President Ali Bongo and his placement under house arrest. The coup was reportedly driven by concerns over flaws in the recent general election and governance issues.

President Bola Tinubu says “contagious autocracy” is spreading across Africa, and he is committed to working with other heads of state on the continent to defend democracy.

Tinubu’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, expressed the presidency’s deep concern over the rise of autocratic actions in various regions of the continent. He said the President is monitoring the situation on “the seeming autocratic contention apparently spreading across different regions of our beloved continent.”

He stated that the President “affirms that the rule of law and a faithful recourse to the constitutional resolutions and instruments of electoral dispute resolution must not at any time be allowed to perish from our great continent.

“To this end, the President is working very closely and continues to communicate with other Heads of States in the African Union towards a comprehensive consensus on the next steps forward with respect to how the power in Gabon will play out and how the continent will respond to the contagious autocracy we have seen spread across our continent.”

Military officers in Gabon took over power in the central African country. They said they seized power in the central African country because elections held over the weekend were not credible. They cancelled the elections, dissolved all state institutions and closed the country’s borders.

In his statement, Mr Ngelale said President Tinubu is “watching closely with deep concern” for Gabon’s socio-political stability and “at the seeming autocratic contention apparently spreading across different regions of our beloved continent.”

Mr Tinubu is leading ECOWAS’ efforts to reverse the coup in neighbouring Niger and has been reluctant to authorise the use of force as approved by the ECOWAS heads of government to restore constitutional order in Niger.