23rd July, 2020
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has arrived Mali for a peace mission and the president wore a face mask for the first time.
Buhari has never worn a face mask since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria in February.
But the president was spotted in Mali on Friday wearing a face mask.
Some ECOWAS leaders led by President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger Republic, agreed to meet in Mali to engage in further consultations towards finding a political solution to the crisis in the country.
Watch video here:
The arrival of President @MBuhari in Bamako. He is in Mali with some ECOWAS leaders led by President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger Republic, as they agreed to meet there to engage in further consultations towards finding a political solution to the crisis in the country. pic.twitter.com/qzblArbaRE
— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) July 23, 2020
Also in Mali, is former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who returned to Bamako in continuation of his mediation mission as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) intensifies efforts towards resolving the ongoing socio-political crisis in the Mali.
As ECOWAS’ Special Envoy to Mali, the former President will be accompanying a High-Level Mission of five west African Heads of State who are visiting Mali as a follow-up to Jonathan’s last week mediation mission to Bamako. The High-Level Mission includes Nigerian President Muhamadu Buhari, Mr. Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger and Chair of ECOWAS Authority, Mr. Macky Sall, President of Senegal, Mr. Alassane Ouattara, President of Cote d’Ivoire and Mr. Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-addo, President of the Republic of Ghana.
The regional leaders are expected to meet with key stakeholders in the Malian political crisis with a view to helping them to find common ground in the search for solution.
After a three-day mission to Mali last week which ended last Sunday, Jonathan and his mediation team recommended the formation of a government of national unity with members drawn from different interest groups in the country, including the ruling coalition, the opposition parties and the civil society.