You can count on us - Nana Addo assures Guinea Bissau

Ghana has assured the government and people of Guinea Bissau of its support in their upcoming elections slated for November this year.

The assurance was given by President Akufo-Addo when the Prime Minister of that country, Aristide Gomes and a delegation called on him at the Jubilee House in Accra on Thursday.

During the discussions, Aristide made an appeal to Ghana and members of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) to help provide the needed support for their upcoming elections since the country was still struggling to come out of the doldrums.

President Akufo-Addo could not but assured him of his Ghana’s support in strengthening democracy in Guinea Bissau.

He thus promised to push the agenda for support for that country’s election at the next ECOWAS and Africa Union summit meeting, giving his word saying, “I’m confident that something would be done.”

That, he said was because “everybody is encouraged by you and the manner in which you have come; we recognize that this is a historic opportunity to try and bring this long standing crisis to a closure. So whatever be the case, you can count on me, you can count on Ghana for us to make a strong case as well as the post electoral situation as far as the ECOMOG is concerned.”

President Akufo-Addo stressed the need for a restructuring of the security forces in Guinea Bissau which he considered as one of the major matters to be addressed.

His reason was that “we cannot have a democracy unless the elected leaders of the country [control] the security, the armed forces”, citing the case of Ghana where even though he is not a soldier but is recognized as the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces as example.

“It’s just to make the point about the supremacy of the elected leaders of the country over these security agencies; so we have all to help you… They can count on us; whatever we can do to assist to bring about a positive development in Guinea Bissau we are going to do it,” he said.