President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday was spotted wearing a face mask for the first time as he arrived Mali on a peace mission.
Buhari has defied critics by not wearing a face mask since the coronavirus pandemic slipped into Nigeria in February.
The Nigerian President and some Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders led by the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the sub-regional organisation, President Issoufou Mahamadou of Niger Republic, agreed to meet in Mali to engage in further consultations towards finding a political solution to the crisis in the country.
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
Host President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Presidents Macky Sall of Senegal, Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana and Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire are expected to participate in the Bamako meeting.
Also in Mali, is former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who returned to Bamako in continuation of his mediation mission as the 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.
I arrived Bamako this morning, the second time I will be visiting Mali with my @ecowas_cedeao team on a mediation mission in a week. Today, we’re being joined by five West African Heads of State who are visiting Mali to hold further consultations with Malian stakeholders.
GEJ pic.twitter.com/vgqj4vAh6G— Goodluck E. Jonathan (@GEJonathan) July 23, 2020
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.
