Intervene in Togo or risk crisis on your hands – Group to ECOWAS

The Ghana-Togo Solidarity Movement says if the political situation in neighbouring Togo is not tackled by ECOWAS, instability in that country will spread to other West African countries including Ghana.

Addressing the media Wednesday, Bernard Mornah who is the convenor of the movement believes the fragile economy of Ghana will be affected negatively.

He said, “as long as Togo is not stable, nowhere will be stable, particularly West Africa because we are interlinked culturally and announcing for a 4th term has outraged the people of Togo and as of yesterday, some residents of Lome burnt tyres”.

Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe on Tuesday confirmed his candidacy for elections next month that look set to see him claim a fourth term and extend his family’s decades-long rule.

Togolese lawmakers last May approved a constitutional amendment allowing Gnassingbe to run for office again in 2020 and 2025.

Union for the Republic (UNIR) party secretary Aklesso Atchole said it was the “unanimous will of members” for the president to stand again as its candidate at the vote on February 22.

This according to Bernard will affect the stability of other countries in the West Africa region. He said “remember Ghana is the closest to Togo. Our fragile economy would be burdened our weak health system will be burdened, the jobless situation would be accentuated and all manner of vices may be occasioned. In short, Ghana is under siege.”

He went on “the ECOWAS understands this. To help the Togolese people find a solution to this serious crisis in which the country has been matching to. The ECOWAS appointed two facilitators including Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana. I’m sure the Togolese people are grateful for the efforts of our president to bring peace to Togo. And probably they still trust in our president to help Togo become a democratic country like Ghana where citizens can enjoy freedoms with little harassment because of the political beliefs.”

Togo is the only country in West Africa not to have enjoyed a constitutional transition of power from one government to the other.