Questioned by RFI on the occasion of the 19th Francophonie Summit which opened Friday October 4 in Villers-Cotterêts, in the north of France, the Ghanaian president returns to the situation in his northern neighbor and the withdrawal of Ouagadougou, Bamako and Niamey from ECOWAS at the start of the year. He also pleads for the release of former Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum, still imprisoned in Niger after the putsch of July 2023.
1 min
Gone are the days when the Ghanaian president sounded the alarm on “ the presence of Russian mercenaries in Burkina Faso » during the United States-Africa summit in December 2022 in Washington. Today, Nana Akufo-Addo believes that “ Russian auxiliaries » are not very different from “ French auxiliaries » who preceded them in Burkina. Above all, the Ghanaian head of state affirms that his country “ cannot turn our back on Burkina Faso ” And ” hopes, as soon as possible, for a new arrangement for the reintegration of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali into ECOWAS “.
In his interview with RFI, the Ghanaian president also strongly pleads for the release of President Mohamed Bazoum imprisoned in Niger since the putsch of July 2023. “ We cannot forget it. If we, the democratically elected leaders of West Africa, turn our backs on him, tomorrow it could be me, it could be someone else [qui se fera renverser à son tour] “, declares Nana Akufo-Addo with astonishing frankness. And the Ghanaian president added: “ Ghana will continue to insist on his unconditional release “.