Ghana’s president calls on ECOWAS to address term limit extensions as coups ravage West Africa

By Michael Tawiah Bortei October 2, 2023

Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has called on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to speak against the extension of presidential term limits by some leaders looking to strengthen their grip on power.

According to him, the extension of term limits by heads of states “tend to result in discontent amongst the populace, which create fertile grounds on which military interventions disingenuously feed”.

His comment comes as the region, plagued with the threats of terrorism, is now attempting to address political instability as coups spread.

Akufo-Addo made the remarks when he addressed the 2nd ECOWAS Parliamentary Seminar in Ghana on September 29, under the theme, “Challenges Relating to Unconstitutional Changes of Government and Presidential Term Limits in West Africa - Role of the ECOWAS Parliament.”

Over the past three years, central and western Africa has experienced eight military takeovers, including Burkina Faso, Guinea, Sudan, Mali, and until recently, Niger and Gabon, with experts raising fears of more to follow.   

Akufo-Addo charged the participants to propose measures to ensure the anchoring of democratic and republican values, both at the level of political elites and citizens of the Community, and added that “any attempt at the manipulation of opinion and of the rules of the democratic game for partisan political ends always leads to a loss of legitimacy, which is reflected in the social tensions it creates.”

In his opinion, adherence to this will ensure that we do not “give up when it comes to guaranteeing the democratic integrity of our respective countries, where we should have governance systems based on the separation of powers, which are free from corruption, and are respectful of the rule of law, individual liberties, human rights, the principles of democratic accountability and social justice.”

Read in IntelliNews Pro
Get IntelliNews Pro

Related Articles

South Africa’s power utility Eskom seen overshooting emergency diesel budget for FY23/24

2023 has been the worst year for power cuts implemented by South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom. On November 30, Africa’s most advanced economy was 334 days into a year that had 322 ... more

Cost of Rio Tinto’s Simandou iron ore project in Guinea soars to $6.2bn

The cost of the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea will be $6.2bn, Rio Tinto has revealed. The project is widely recognised the largest untapped high-grade iron ore deposit in the world, and ... more

More countries to start producing electricity from nuclear power, says IAEA

About a dozen new countries are expected to start producing electricity from nuclear power sources within the next few years, according to the director general of the International Atomic Energy ... more

Follow Us On

Most Read

  1. Top Ukrainian politician David Arakhamia gives seventh confirmation of Russia-Ukraine peace deal agreed in March 2022
    10 days ago
  2. Armenia marks new era with French military purchases
    8 days ago
  3. LONG READ: The boomerang effect: sanctions hurt Europe more than Russia
    5 days ago
  4. Putin's approval rating up to 85% in November, Russians happy with the country's direction
    2 days ago
  5. Oil continues to flow to Israel via Turkey despite Erdogan’s vehement speeches on plight of Gaza
    1 month ago
  1. Oil continues to flow to Israel via Turkey despite Erdogan’s vehement speeches on plight of Gaza
    1 month ago
  2. Top Ukrainian politician David Arakhamia gives seventh confirmation of Russia-Ukraine peace deal agreed in March 2022
    10 days ago
  3. Russia overtakes Germany to become fifth biggest economy in the world in GDP on a PPP basis
    3 months ago
  4. Armenia marks new era with French military purchases
    8 days ago
  5. Lavrov confirms Ukraine war peace deal reached last April, but then abandoned
    2 months ago

Reports

SELECT `n`.`nid` AS `id`, `n`.`title`, 'bne IntelliNews' AS authors, 'bne IntelliNews' AS bylines, `wc`.`field_website_callout_value` AS `summary`, `smc`.`field_social_media_callout_value` AS `social`, `pd`.`published_at` AS `date`, `p`.`field_publication__tid` AS `publication_id`, `fm`.`uri` AS `image`, `fspcaption`.`field_story_photo_caption_value` AS `image_credit`, `fspcredit`.`field_story_photo_credit_value` AS `image_author`, `ws`.`field_website_sections_tid` AS `section_id`, `fdfs`.`field_subject_tid` AS `subject_id`, `db`.`body_value` AS `body`, `fm2`.`uri` AS `pdf`, `et`.`field_enable_tracking_value` AS `tracking`, `ht`.`field_head_tags_value` AS `headTags`, `bt`.`field_body_tags_value` AS `bodyTags` FROM `node` AS `n` LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_website_callout` AS `wc` ON wc.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_social_media_callout` AS `smc` ON smc.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `publication_date` AS `pd` ON pd.nid = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_publication_` AS `p` ON p.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_story_picture` AS `sp` ON sp.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `file_managed` AS `fm` ON fm.fid = sp.field_story_picture_fid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_story_photo_caption` AS `fspcaption` ON fspcaption.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_story_photo_credit` AS `fspcredit` ON fspcredit.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `workflow_node` AS `wn` ON wn.nid = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_website_sections` AS `ws` ON ws.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_subject` AS `fdfs` ON fdfs.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_body` AS `db` ON db.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_file` AS `ff` ON ff.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `file_managed` AS `fm2` ON fm2.fid = ff.field_file_fid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_enable_tracking` AS `et` ON et.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_head_tags` AS `ht` ON ht.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_body_tags` AS `bt` ON bt.entity_id = n.nid WHERE (n.status = 1) AND (n.type = 'article') AND (n.nid = 295008) AND (wn.sid= 3) AND (p.field_publication__tid IN (2465,2851,3184,3159,3266,3264,3270,3265,3267,3268,3269,3171,3168,3185,3170,1346,1345,3180,3175,3254,3249,1207,1208,3181,3231,3177,3186,3178,1003,3187,2975,3204,3198,3188,3202,3196,3250,3189,3160,3161,3312,3313,3173,3314,3315,3167,3259,3257,3263,3258,3260,3261,3262,3174,3316,3165,3192,3163,3282,3190,2811,3256,3317,3162,3318,3191,3297,3182,3179,3166,3319,3376,3320,3172,3255,3169,1008,3203,3197,3321,3252,3164,1307,3322,3183,3220,3176,3201,3323,1327,1020,1006,1009,1013,1014,1018,1005,1328,1010,1011,1002,1012,1311,1330,1017,1016,1019,1004,1001,1334,1335,1336,1015,1337,1338,1339,1340,1341,2496,2501,2517,2529,2506,2505,2524,2513,2526,2537,2489,2490,2520,2536,2488,2532,2500,2515,2503,2493,2527,2523,2510,2525,2498,2499,2528,2507,2487,2511,2521,2502,2491,2519,2497,2492,2514,2495,2509,2512,1629,3358)) LIMIT 1
Dismiss