Guinea stands to be sanctioned on Friday when an extra-ordinary session of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is to convene in Abuja to discuss the recent military putsch in the country.
The sanction, which may be in the form of suspension, is in protest against the coup and in line with the current stand of the AU against military takeover of government on the continent.
Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ojo Maduekwe told State House correspondents at the end of a briefing session with President Umaru Yar 'Adua on Monday that the extra-ordinary session would primarily approve the suspension of Guinea.
Maduekwe said the military had no place in governance in Africa and advised the coupists to vacate the seat of power with immediate effect.
He said the ECOWAS understood that somebody would have to conduct elections, and urged the military men to hand such responsibility to civilians.
"So all they are supposed to do if there is no civil authority to conduct the elections, then these people who have moved in through a non-democratic process should just conduct elections and get out of town," he said.
"We cannot have double standards on this issue, I called for sanctions on Mauritania and my other colleague foreign ministers agreed to that and when we came to the last AU meeting, that decision was upheld," he said.
"You can be calling for sanctions on Mauritania and then you are embracing government of Guinea," he said.
"We fully recognise the fact that all the cases may not be the same, so it is only for that reason as a matter of real politic for pragmatic reasons that you need one month, two, three months to conduct elections, go ahead and conduct but even the process of election does not mean we are going to engage them as government," he said.
Maduekwe said Nigeria had no relationship with the military regime in Guinea, adding that there will be no room for double standard under the new AU commitment to democracy.
He said the two-year transition proposed by the junta was not acceptable and would not be considered by the ECOWAS.
"We are looking at time frame that is just enough to conduct elections and get out. If it requires two weeks let them conduct the elections and get out," he added.
The minister said Nigeria would never condone coups in Africa while condemning Senegal for recognising the junta that carried out the coup.
He said it would be a sad day for the consolidation of democracy in Africa if parties to the Constitutive Act and Charter Declaration that governments not there by democracy should not be recognized fail to uphold it.
"So if any member of AU that is of course a legitimate government steps outside the ranks of other members to now fraternise with the military junta, I am sure the collective wisdom of the leadership of AU will find a way of even sanctioning that government," he added.
"For us the issue of undermining the democratic process is not just when a group of adventurers organise a coup and overthrow a democratically elected government," he said.
"I believe there must be capacity within the AU to also call that country to order. You know Africa has lost a lot as a result of this zig zag and as a result of not working the full path," Maduekwe said.
On the recent presidential election in Ghana, the minister said Nigeria congratulated the country and would fully participate in its handing over to the president-elect, John Attah-Mills on Wednesday.
Source:Xinhua
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