Dr. Doyin Okupe, former Director-General of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council, has congratulated President Bola Tinubu on his re-election as chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
President Tinubu was re-elected at the 65th Ordinary Session of the bloc in Abuja on Sunday. In a congratulatory message on Monday, Okupe, a former presidential spokesperson, said: “I congratulate President Bola Tinubu on his re-election as the leader of ECOWAS. It is difficult for me to understand why it is the destiny of President Tinubu to come into positions of leadership, both at national and regional levels, during periods of hardship and difficulty. But I pray for divine guidance and wisdom to navigate these turbulent waters.”
According to Okupe, Tinubu’s main agenda in his new tenure should be to bring back the leadership of the Sahel Nations of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger to ECOWAS. He emphasized that the first step should be to reconcile with Nigeria’s immediate neighbor, the Republic of Niger.
Okupe advised Tinubu to seek the support of former President Muhammadu Buhari and other influential Northern leaders with strong ties to the Republic of Niger. He noted, “The African Union as a body can be made to officially spearhead this reconciliatory agenda while a diplomatic outreach to Russia for this purpose, especially if handled at the level of the AU, will certainly be helpful.”
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