Jonathan briefs Buhari on Mali crisis

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Abuja received a briefing from former President Goodluck Jonathan on the latest political developments in Mali.

Mr Jonathan is the current ECOWAS Special Envoy to Mali.

An ECOWAS special meeting on Mali holds in Ghana on Sunday to deliberate on the political situation in that country.

Femi Adesina, Mr Buhari’s spokesperson, stated that Sunday’s meeting was the subject of the parley between his principal and Mr Jonathan.

He stated that Mr Buhari repeated his earlier avowal that whatever Nigeria would do on the Mali situation would be done within the ambit of ECOWAS.

NAN reports that Mr Buhari had earlier received, in an audience, a Special Envoy of Assimi Goita, the Transitional President of Mali on Thursday.

The envoy, Abdoulaye Maiga, Mali’s Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, briefed Mr Buhari on the conclusions of the National Conference on State-Rebuilding, held in Bamako between December 27 and December 30, 2021.

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Responding to the briefing, Mr Buhari noted that nobody could love Mali more than Malians.

He counselled that all parties should work within the tenets of ECOWAS to restore Constitutional order to the West African country at the shortest possible time.

He said: “I am pleased you have briefed the ECOWAS Chairman too. Nigeria will work within ECOWAS limitations to assist Mali. Every country has its issues.

“We fought our own civil war before; we may not know the totality of internal politics of each country; we will make as much sacrifice as we can for Mali, within ECOWAS requirements.’’

(NAN)