Maada Bio and the Guinea-Bissau President Sissoco Embaló are in serious trouble. ECOWAS Commission could not have been more blunt and truthful to the illegal regimes of Julius Maada Bio and Sissoco Embaló. It was a devastating blow unleashed by the ECOWAS Commission through its Chairman and President of Nigeria Ahmed Tinubu who did not mince his words to warn about unconstitutional changes in Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau. (Photo: ECOWAS through its Chair Tinubu ready to save Sierra Leone).

At the moment, Maada Bio, the illegal Sierra Leone, is under serious international pressure for his negative conduct of the June 24, 2023 general and presidential elections widely dubbed as fraudulent by both local and international elections observers. Despite the people of Sierra Leone coming out in droves to vote overwhelmingly against Maada Bio, he however went ahead to commit a constitutional coup by taking power forcefully in connivance with major internal stakeholders in the country.

The corrupt Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone ECSL Mohamed Kenewui Konneh and others aided Maada Bio to steal the peoples’ mandate. It’s no secret that the main opposition APC party candidate Dr Samura Kamara won the June 24, 2023 elections but the police and military brutality and electoral violence prevented free, fair, credible, accountable, transparent and peaceful elections. Much to the chagrin of national and international elections observers, there were serious questions asked as to the authenticity of the electoral process. (Photo: Maada in trouble).

As a result, ECOWAS, the regional body in West Africa led the onslaught to remind Sierra Leone under Maada Bio that the world is very concerned about the restoration of democracy and constitutional rule in West Africa. Endorsed recently by the United Nations Security Council, ECOWAS was given the financial and moral support to make sure constitutional rule is restored in the West African sub-region. And Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau are two nations in the limelight to bring back democratic order.

Consequently, ECOWAS Chairman Tinubu recently reminded both Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau Presidents about the dangers of unconstitutional change in their respective nations. Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco Embaló is the President of Guinea-Bissau since February 2020. He is a military officer who previously served as Prime Minister between November 2016 and January 2018. A coup d’état was attempted in Guinea-Bissau on 1 February 2022. Sissoco Embaló said that “many” members of the security forces had been killed in a “failed attack against democracy.”

The same fake coup was hatched in Sierra Leone on November 26, 2023 when several innocent people were murdered. ECOWAS Chairman speaking recently on behalf of the ECOWAS Commission said they will not allow any unconstitutional change in West Africa. The ECOWAS Chairman Tinubu noted naming two countries in his speech namely Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau. Tinubu said: “The fact that we stand against unconstitutional changes of government in our sub-region, we will continue to do so. (Applause). I therefore urged all of us to stand strong and highly committed in the face of any challenge in Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau. (Photo: President Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau).

“The message must go down clearly that we will support democratically elected governments not unconstitutional exercise,” President Tinubu stressed on behalf of ECOWAS. No wonder, there is not a single nation or foreign elections observers or national elections observers who have endorsed the June 24, 2023 elections as free, fair in Sierra Leone. No one has congratulated Maada Bio. No inauguration yet for Maada even though Sierra Leone had its elections months before neighbouring Liberia where inauguration had already taken place.

This message from the ECOWAS Chair and President of Nigeria highlights one significant fact. Only two nations namely Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau were mentioned and warned. Liberia, that also conducted elections a few months after Sierra Leone, has become a role model of democracy. Former Liberian President George Weah recently handed over power peacefully to President Joseph Nyuma Baokai in a pomp and pageantry inauguration in Monrovia last month.

Western democracies have lavished praises on former President George Weah for a job well done as the whole world recognised the democracy in Liberia unlike in Sierra Leone. The same two countries, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, were omitted at the United Nations Security Council UNSC recent meeting in New York when constitutional rule was mentioned. Liberia was mentioned and praised by the Security Council members. ECOWAS has made it clear that unconstitutional change of government is unacceptable. This message shows Bio’s days are numbered and thanks to the Tripartite Investigations Committee, positive recommendations to the effect are imminent.