Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, has condemned the alleged coup
attempt in Ghana. He said democratic elections are the only acceptable
way to install and change a government in Africa.
The Ghanaian government said the alleged plot, coming less than a year
to the country’s next General Election, was neutralised by security
operatives after 15 months of surveillance and gathering of
information on the activities of the prime suspects.
The government later announced the arrest of the suspects whom it
identified as members of a group known as Take Action Ghana (TAG),
Ghana’s Minister of Information, Kojo Nkrumah, said the group was
recruiting young people with the sole aim of destabilising the
country.
Reacting to the development on Wednesday through a statement by his
spokesperson, Garba Shehu, Mr Buhari condemned the plot as an affront
on democracy.
Read the statement below:
Following the announcement of the interception of an attempted plot
against the authorities in Ghana, the President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has issued the following
statement:
“Nigeria and Ghana are leading partners in ECOWAS, and Transparency
International, and Afrobarometer’s Africa Index 2019 attested that
both countries have recorded exceptional advances in fighting
corruption. When you take on powerful and corrupt vested interests
successfully, sometimes they seek to push back. As the saying goes,
‘if you fight corruption, corruption will fight back’.
“The only acceptable form of governance in our region in this 21st
century is through democratic elections. It is the only way to install
– and the only way to change – an administration. The days of coups
and government without votes are over.
“All Africans hold the nation of Ghana in the highest esteem as the
first post-colonial country to gain independence and the first African
country to hold multi-party elections by universal suffrage. Ghana is
the first, true African democracy.
“We in Nigeria hold out – as always – our hands in support and
friendship to our brothers and sisters in Ghana”.
