30 November 2025
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called on the Economic Community of West African States to compel the military government in Guinea-Bissau to announce the result of the country’s election and the release of the opposition candidate, Fernando Dias da Costa.
The former President, who was airlifted out of the coup-hit country on Thursday, warned that West Africa is tired of negative stories of military interventions.
Jonathan was part of a joint AU–ECOWAS–WAEF Group monitoring the Guinea-Bissau election when soldiers intervened before final results were announced.
Speaking after the meeting, Jonathan said it was standard practice for former leaders involved in regional assignments to give first-hand information on such developments ahead of any ECOWAS deliberations.
“I came this evening to brief Mr President. What happened? Well, that’s the tradition of the former president, all these regional and continental issues, whenever you’re involved, when you get back home, you have to brief your president, because Equus leaders will meet. I will not be there, so you will be able to get first-hand information,” he said
“I think, just like I mentioned in the press briefing, the key thing is that the election was concluded. Tallying of the results was almost concluded. In fact, the results are known, and the key thing is that the winner of this election must be announced.
“They cannot kick out the military with force; otherwise, people will die. But let us know who the winner of the election is. So, what I’m asking the ECOWAS leaders to do is to reach out to the military leadership in Guinea-Bissau, talk to them. They are human beings. They know the right thing to be done.
“First, for them to release the opposition man, because the man has not committed any offence. He didn’t announce himself as the winner of the election. If he has done that, they will say it is a treasonable offence. So, there was no reason to arrest him. They should release that man. Then they should announce the result, and if the military will agree, the person who won the election should be inaugurated as the president of the country,” he said.
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Jonathan, who has spent much of the past decade mediating electoral disputes and political transitions across West Africa, said the region could no longer afford the cycle of coups and disputed polls that has unsettled ECOWAS in recent years.
“We are tired of this in Africa, we are tired. Every day, it is one negat
