Civil Society Groups to Launch Anti-coup Movement in Abuja
The official launching of a Regional Citizen's Dialogue Programme, (RCDP) for preventing and responding to unconstitutional changes of government (UCG) in West Africa will hold on February 27th and 28th, 2024 in Abuja.
The two two-day programme, which will hold at Reiz Hotel in Abuja, will be attended by civil society groups in West Africa and other parts of the continent, including representatives of regional agencies and institutions in Europe.
A statement issued by the group disclosed that the launching would serve as a platform to present, finalise and adoption by participants a revised programme document and a comprehensive yearly implementation work plan for the initial phase of the programme, spanning from February to September, 2024.
The statement observed that there had been seven military coups in Africa in the last three years, with West Africa recording the highest number.
It added that the incidents, including the threat of withdrawal by three member states - Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, and the recent unexpected postponement of elections in Senegal, have topped the agenda of ECOWAS and the AU in recent times.
The statement disclosed that the aim of RCDP was an attempt by CSOs to support efforts by the African Union and its partners in the implementation of the main outcomes of the AU Accra Declaration on Unconstitutional Changes of Government (UCG) in Africa (March 2022) and the Malabo Declaration on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa, adopted at the 16th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union Head of States on May 22, 2022.
In a letter of invitation sent to participants, the Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Nigeria, Professor Ayo Omatayo, said: “Concerned with the recent wave of military coups across West Africa that threaten the future of democracy and political stability amidst persistent and growing economic hardship, poverty, and security crises induced by violent extremist organisations on the continent, the RCDP is a collaborative effort of a consortium of civil society and research think tanks with leadership drawn from the National Institute for Policy and
Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Nigeria, the Regional Centre for Governance and Security Policy Initiative (RCGSPI), with headquarter based in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and the Dantiye Centre for Good Leadership and Journalism (DCLJ), Kano, Nigeria, with support from the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID), based in Lisbon, Portugal. The regional programme is designed to mobilse and organise civil society contributions towards the prevention, mitigation, and response to incidences of UCG in the West Africa subregion”.