President Muhammadu Buhari is presently at the presidential villa, Abuja, attending the second virtual extraordinary summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The meeting is part of the ongoing efforts of the leaders to return Mali to constitutional order after a military coup deposed its elected government recently.
Recall that the ECOWAS leaders had earlier met via video conference on August 20, to deliberate on the same matter where they called for the immediate release of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali, and a return to constitutional order in the country.
The ousted Malian president, Keita, was released from detention by the military junta on August 27 in line with the request of the ECOWAS leaders.
The ongoing summit of the ECOWAS leaders would review the socio-political situation in Mali, following the insistence of the Malian military junta to stay in power for three years before returning the country to constitutional order.
All the presidents in the ECOWAS are present as well as the ECOWAS President, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou.
Nigerian officials physically present at the Council chamber where President Buhari is joining the summit from are the Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyema, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada.
Others are the Minister of Defense Major General Bashir Magashi; Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari; National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar.
