Doyin Okupe, a former Director-General of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council, has congratulated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his re-election as chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Vanguard reports
Recall that President Tinubu was re-elected at the 65th Ordinary Session of the bloc in Abuja on Sunday.
Speaking on the development via a congratulatory message on Monday, Okupe said, “I congratulate President Bola Tinubu on his re-election as the leader of ECOWAS.
“It is difficult for me to understand why it is the destiny of President Tinubu to come into position of leadership, both at national and regional levels, at periods of hardship and difficulty.
“But I pray for divine guidance and wisdom to navigate these turbulent waters.”
According to him, in this new tenure, Tinubu’s main agenda should be to bring back the leadership of the Sahel Nations of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to the ECOWAS.
He also urged the president to reconcile with Nigeria’s immediate neighbours, the Republic of Niger.
Okupe advised Tinubu to lean on the support of former President Muhammadu Buhari and other influential Northern leaders with strong ties with Republic of Niger.
"The Africa Union as a body can be made to officially spearhead this reconcilatory agenda while a diplomatic outreach to Russia for this purpose, especially if handled at the level of the AU, will certainly be helpful,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the presidency on Monday, countered the narrative in some sections of the media that President Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, stepped aside as the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, described such reports as fake news. He also lamented the general scourge of fake news in the society.
Particularly, the presidential media aide called out a news outlet for failing to pull down or amend its report concerning Tinubu stepping aside as ECOWAS chairman.
"The scourge of fake news is an epidemic. Despite this news being outrightly false, @nigeriantribune has refused to take it down or even amend their reportage. This is just wild !” the presidential aide lamented.