Osibanjo Asks Sudan Warring Factions to Abide by New Agreement
Tobi
Soniyi
The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has called on all South Sudan warring factions to abide by the terms of the agreement negotiated for them by the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development, (IGAD).
A statement by Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President, Laolu Akande said after signing as a witness to the peace deal between the warring parties in the South Sudan crisis, yesterday in Addis Ababa, Osinbajo expressed the hope that the conflict in the world’s newest country might come to an end soon.
He said: “I am excited that this might be the end of the mystery that has engulfed South Sudan thus far.”
The Vice President represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the summit and spoke after a long drawn, last ditch diplomatic effort that produced an agreement initialed by the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit and fully signed by the leader of the warring faction of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM), former South Sudan Vice President Riek Machar.
Also, one of the key leaders of the ruling Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM), Pagan Amum, signed the peace agreement, representing former political detainees in the South Sudanese conflict.
However, the South Sudan president is yet to fully sign the agreement. He promised to conclude consultations on the power-sharing aspect of the agreement and then return to append his full signature very soon.
Other aspects of the agreement fully endorsed include providing access for humanitarian assistance and the cessation of hostilities.
Osinbajo was involved in the diplomatic talks that lasted for at least two sessions yesterday in the Ethiopian capital under the auspices of IGAD with the addition of a number of other key African countries like Nigeria and international agencies including the African Union, the United Nations and the European Union.
While addressing the press in Addis Ababa later yesterday, Osinbajo said Nigeria and other stakeholders“should be justifiably proud of today’s achievement.”
He recalled Nigeria’s long standing commitment and involvement regarding Sudan, including the role the country played in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the Darfur Peace Agreement and the eventual independence of South Sudan in 2011.
He explained that as a regional representative from West Africa and as a member of the African Union, Nigeria was an important member of the IGAD-Plus peace process that drew up the draft agreement.
Expressing the country’s concern alongside others in the IGAD-PLUS, Osinbajo said Nigeria was keen on finding a way to stop the killings, losses and sufferings of the people of South Sudan.
He said Nigeria knew how painful such an internal conflict as the one in South Sudan could be having passed through a similar traumatic experience, when the country was plunged into a civil war which lasted three years.
According to him, the Addis Ababa suumit has indeed recorded great progress, with the fact that the rebel group, has signed the agreement and, the Government of South Sudan has also initialed the document, with the promise to return in fifteen days after consultation, to finalize its agreement.
The summit was hosted by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, who is the chairperson of IGADPLUS, and attended by African leaders, including presidents from Kenya, Uganda and Sudan. The United Nations was also represented by the deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, among other international agencies and Africa’s development partners.