Former Director-General of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Doyin Okupe, has lauded the re-election of President Bola Tinubu as the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), News About Nigeria reports.
He congratulated the president in a statement on Monday, wishing him the wisdom and divine guidance to carry out his obligations.
Recall that Tinubu was re-elected at the 65th Ordinary Session of the bloc in Abuja on Sunday.
Okupe, a former presidential spokesperson, stated that it is intriguing that President Tinubu should come into positions of leadership both at a national and regional level during a period of hardship and difficulty.
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 said that the first step would be to reconcile with Nigeria’s immediate neighbours, the Republic of Niger.
Okupe also advised Tinubu to lean on the support of former President Muhammadu Buhari and other influential northern leaders with strong ties to the Republic of Niger.
“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.”
“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 stated.