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Tag: Jose Mario Vaz

  • Buhari, President Vaz meet in Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari and the President of Guinea Bissau, Jose Mario Vaz on Thursday held a closed door meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja over that country’s failed general elections in that country which was supposed to hold on November 18.

    The Guinea Bissau leader Who arrived State House at about 11am and was received by President Buhari who took him straight to his office where they met behind closed doors.

    It was not clear what was discussed by the two leaders, but Speaking after the meeting through an interpreter, President Vaz told reporters that he came to Nigeria to brief and seek advice from President Buhari on the postponement of election in his country that was initially scheduled for 18th November.

    He said he briefed President Buhari on the ongoing voters registration exercise in Guinea Bissau and expressed satisfaction that the engagement with the Nigeria’s President was fruitful.

    He said, “I came to see President Muhammadu Buhari in his capacity as the President of Nigeria and also in his capacity as the current Chair of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States). I came to see him as my elder brother to seek his advice and experience because as you know we in Africa respect the elders.

    Read Also: Buhari departs Paris

    “I had the opportunity to brief him about the situation in Guinea Bissau, the voter registration process going on in Guinea Bissau. As you are aware the international community will be aware Guinea Bissau was to hold election on 18th of November, but we have come to the conclusion that it will not be possible, that is the reason why I came to see my elder brother so that I can seek his advice and brief him about the situation.

    “I am going back home very much encouraged because I was given very important advise. Nigeria has been a great supporter of the process in Guinea Bissau in the voter registration process going on. I can tell you that I took the engagement before the President and all the advice I got from him will be applied fully.

    “That is why I am very happy about our discussions for his warn welcome and this comes as no surprise because this is a reception from an elder brother to his younger brother.”

    President Buhari did not say anything after the closed-door meeting with his Guinea Bissau colleague.

  • Guinea-Bissau president names new government

    Guinea-Bissau’s president has named a new cabinet in a bid to end a two-month political crisis that brought fears of a revival of drug trafficking and instability in the coup-prone West African country.

    Reuters reported that the decree issued late on Monday came hours after talks between President Jose Mario Vaz and recently appointed prime minister Carlos Correia, the country’s third prime minister since August, collapsed.

  • Guinea Bissau’s president forms new government

    Guinea Bissau’s President Jose Mario Vaz on Monday named a new government with the backing of the second-biggest party, weeks after his dismissal of the previous cabinet sparked fears of a return to turmoil in the coup-plagued West African nation.

    Vaz sacked then-Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira last month amid a growing row between the men, both members of the ruling PAIGC, that was fed by overlapping duties in Guinea Bissau’s semi-presidential system.

    The president then named Baciro Dja, formerly minister of presidential affairs, as the new premier.

    However, the move was condemned by many PAIGC members, forcing Vaz to seek the support of the PRS, the second-largest party in parliament, Reuters reported.

    Dja’s new cabinet is composed of 15 ministers and 15 secretaries of state, according to the presidential decree naming them. The PRS secured five ministries and five secretary of state posts, along with governorships and ambassadorships as part of the agreement.

    The United Nations last month urged Guinea Bissau’s political groups to resume dialogue to end the power struggle, which it worried risked undermining the country’s fragile stability.

     

  • Guinea-Bissau government sacked

    Guinea-Bissau government sacked

    Guinea-Bissau’s President, Jose Mario Vaz, has dismissed the government following a rift with Prime Minister Domingos Pereira.

    The two men are said to have disagreed on a number of issues including the use of aid money and the return to Guinea-Bissau of a former army chief of staff, the BBC reports.

    The West African state returned to civilian rule in June last year.

    With a history of coups, no elected leader has served a full term since independence from Portugal in 1974.

    Many senior military officers have also been accused of turning the country into a narcotic state as it is a major hub for cocaine smuggled from Latin America to Europe.

    The BBC says the announcement follows weeks of tension between the president and the prime minister.

    In a televised address, Mr. Vaz said a simple reshuffle would not be sufficient to solve the problem.

    The United Nations Security Council has asked the leaders to resume dialogue.

    Earlier, Portugal warned that development aid could be at risk if the country slipped back into instability.