Former President Goodluck Jonathan has briefed President Bola Tinubu on the unfolding political crisis in Guinea-Bissau after returning to the country under emergency evacuation.
Jonathan met President Tinubu behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa on Saturday, less than 24 hours after he was airlifted out of the junta-led West African nation.
The former president had been in Guinea-Bissau as head of a joint election-observation mission when a group of military officers staged a takeover. By Wednesday, the military announced it had assumed total control, suspended the electoral process and sealed the country’s borders — a move that triggered widespread international condemnation.
The Federal Government confirmed Jonathan’s evacuation, which included coordination with the Ivorian authorities to facilitate his safe return to Nigeria.
Speaking to journalists on his arrival, Jonathan described the situation as a “ceremonial coup,” suggesting the power grab may have been engineered by the ousted incumbent rather than a spontaneous military uprising.
ECOWAS has since suspended Guinea-Bissau from its decision-making bodies and is preparing to dispatch a high-level mediation team to push for a return to constitutional rule.
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The African Union has also condemned the takeover, warning that it violates democratic norms and reaffirms the continent’s zero-tolerance policy for unconstitutional changes of government..
TVC previously reported that the Federal Government has confirmed that former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is safe and has left Guinea-Bissau following the military coup that toppled the country’s government.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, made this known in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Thursday.
According to him “Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is very safe and out of Guinea-Bissau. He left with a special flight with members of his delegation, including Mohamed Chambas,”.
