Buhari, others arrive Bamako over Mali crisis

West African leaders including Nigeria’s President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), have arrived in Bamako, the Malian capital to find a solution to the worsening political crisis in the francophone country.

Buhari was expected to join his counterpart from the West African regional bloc on a peacekeeping mission to Malim as announced by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, on Wednesday.

“President Muhammadu Buhari will Thursday depart for Bamako, Republic of Mali on a one-day visit, following the briefing by the ECOWAS Special Envoy to the country, former President Goodluck Jonathan.

“The Nigerian President and some 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,” Adesina wrote.

In Bamako with Buhari are Presidents Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast, Macky Sall of Senegal, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger and Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana.

The five leaders were received by Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

The mission to defuse the unrest in the Sahelian country had the backing of the Economic Community of West African States.