The Heads of State and Govern­ment  of ECOWAS  member state have resolved to send a delegation comprising the special en­voy appointed to mediate in the Mali crisis, former Pres­ident Goodluck Jonathan, along with Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, President of ECOWAS Commission, to visit Bamako and seek a resolution to the crisis.

West African presidents are calling for the immediate release of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and a return to constitutional order in that country.

Speaking at a virtual ECOWAS Extraordinary Ses­sion on the situation in Mali, President Muhammadu Bu­hari noted that the removal of the Malian leader could spiral into more crises in the coun­try, with devastating conse­quences for the West African sub-region.

“Indeed, it saddens me greatly as we meet today to discuss the turn of events in Mali, which commenced on Tuesday, this week, where President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, his prime minister and other senior members of his government, were arrested, resulting in the forceful resig­nation of the president as well as the dissolution of the parlia­ment,” President Buhari said.

He added: “ECOWAS in­terventions, through a series of efforts by Ministers, the Special Envoy and Chief Me­diator, and a group of Heads of State of our organisation, as well as an Extraordinary Summit, did not yield positive results.

“Today, Mali has not only descended into political cha­os, but also socio-economic and security disaster with potential tragic consequences to Mali and the sub-region.”

Buhari commended the Af­rican Union, the United Na­tions and other international bodies for condemning the military coup in Mali, urging them to work with ECOWAS in restoring peace and order in the country by insisting on the supremacy of consti­tutional provisions.

According to him, “I am pleased that ECOWAS, the African Union, the UN and others issued strongly worded statements against the action of the Malian military.

“The events in Mali are great setbacks for regional diplomacy which have grave consequences for the peace and security of West Africa.

“I am pleased, therefore, that this Extraordinary Sum­mit holding to discuss path­ways to the debacle we face today in Mali is most timely and appropriate.

“We need to isolate a series of sanctions-regimes that can create and sustain sufficient pressures on the military to force a return to the status quo.

“The critical issues for res­olution in the Malian crisis had been aptly captured as the four-point pathways to peace.