Sepember 2, 1997
Nigerian foreign minister, Tom Ikimi, delivered a special message from Gen. Sani Abacha, the Nigerian Head of State on Tuesday to president Robert Mugabe at his Munhumutpa offices.
The message contained the outcome of the recent meeting of heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held in Abuja. Abacha, as leader of the grouping, chaired the meeting.
Mugabe said he appreciated efforts ECOWAS was making to return Liberia to civilian rule.
He expressed hope that the people of Liberia appreciated those efforts which cost a lot of resources to both Nigeria and Liberia.
Ikimi told reporters after meeting Mugabe that the message centred on the annual ECOWAS summit held in Abuja last Friday.
We looked into the situation in Liberia and Sierra Leone, among other issues of common interest, said Ikimi.
Ikimi said Abacha had also recently presided over the installation of Liberian President Charles Taylor, following the successful implementation of the Abuja peace plan on the West African country, which included a return to civilian rule and disarmament.
The peace plan had resulted in elections declared free and fair by the international community, he said, and an end to the civil war in Liberia.
He, however, said some 11,000 ECOWAS troops would remain in Liberia for six months after the elections in the interest of, and need for, stability and security while the country restructured the defence and police forces.
On Sierra Leone, Ikimi said the military coup which took place as African leaders were holding the Organisation of African Unity summit in Harare had been condemned worldwide.
He said ECOWAS took it upon itself to remedy the situation through a committee of four countries consisting of Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Guinea, which later met the coup leaders.
Ikimi said ECOWAS imposed an economic blockade on Sierra Leone and formally extended the mandate of its forces covering the country.
Asked about the moves Nigeria had made in returning to civilian rule and democracy, Ikimi said the process was ongoing and Oct.1, 1998 was officially earmarked as the end of military rule.
He said local government elections were being held across the country while state, legislative and presidential elections were scheduled for August 1998.