His Excellency Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, Chairman of ECOWAS has received with deep concern and sadness, news of the assassination of His Excellency, Jo=E3o Bernardo Nino Vieira, President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau and General Tagme na Waie, Chief of Defence Staff of the Armed Forces of Guinea-Bissau. The murder of the President and Chief of Defence Staff are condemnedin the strongest of terms as reprehensible and acts that undermine democracy, peace and stability in Guinea-Bissau. The fragile political situation in Guinea-Bissau has been further weakened by these events. This is regretted as it comes at a time when the West African region is making a forward march in the development of democratic governance.
President Yar'Adua has emphasized the importance of constitutional succession to the Presidency after the unfortunate events. He called on the Armed Forces and other Security Agencies of Guinea-Bissau to desist from any actions likely to plunge the country further into lawlessness and political instability.
All peace loving citizens of Guinea-Bissau are called upon to exercise a high sense of responsibility and moderation in their actions and utterances at this critical and testing period in their national life. The Chairman of ECOWAS will dispatch a foreign ministerial delegation to Bissau comprising Ministers from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia and Senegal, and accompanied by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, on Tuesday, March 3, 2009. The delegation will engage all stakeholders in an effort to restore confidence among the political actors, civil society and security services and return the country to constitutional normalcy.
The Chairman of ECOWAS expresses his deep condolences to the families and loved ones of late President Joao Bernardo Vieira and General Tagme and to the entire people of Guinea-Bissau on their tragic demise. He paid tribute to them as patriots who had fought for the liberation of the country from colonial rule and served in the post-independent period to build the country. He entreated the people of Guinea-Bissau to take their demise, as tragic as it is, as an opportunity for national reconciliation and unity.