President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday held a conversation with President Umaro Embalo of Guinea-Bissau shortly after the latter survived a coup attempt.
Buhari, in a statement Wednesday by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, congratulated his Guinean counterpart, Embalo on surviving the coup attempt and commended the loyal troops in Guinea Bissau for showing patriotism leading to their ‘spectacular victory over the disloyal elements of the military.’
He condemned the coup attempt to and extended the goodwill and support of the government and people of Nigeria to the Guinea-Bissauans and the Embalo administration.
Read Also: Guinea President Names Street After President Buhari
Embalo said the situation had been brought under control and that ‘all is well, and normalcy fully restored.’
Africa Daily had on Tuesday reported that an ‘attempted coup’ was reported in Guinea-Bissau after sustained gunfire was heard near the seat of government in the coup-prone West African State.
It was gathered that some heavily-armed men surrounded the Palace of Government, where President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam were believed to have gone to attend a cabinet meeting.
The building is located some where on the edge of the capital Bissau, close to the airport.
People were seen fleeing the area, the local markets were closed and banks shut their doors, while military vehicles laden with troops drove through the streets.
The former Portuguese colony is an impoverished coastal state of around two million people lying south of Senegal.
It has seen four military putsches since gaining independence in 1974, most recently in 2012.
In 2014, the country vowed to return to constitutional government, but it has enjoyed little stability since then and the armed forces wield substantial clout.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
