Chairman of ECOWAS, President Akufo-Addo, on Friday, travelled to Guinea to meet the country’s military leaders.

His visit comes a day after the regional bloc imposed travel and financial sanctions on members of the junta and their families.

In a Twitter post, President Akufo-Addo stated that he is in the country to hold talks with the military leadership in Guinea led by Col. Mamady Doumbouya.

The talk, he said is centred largely on the fate of President Alpha Conde. Ghana’s Head of State is accompanied by the President of Côte d’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara, for this meeting.

The development is a follow up on the recommendations West African leaders made at the regional body’s Accra Extraordinary meeting to firm up a decision on the political situation in Guinea.

The ECOWAS leaders in a post-summit communique, ordered a swift return to constitutional order, asking the military rulers of that country to fix presidential and legislative elections within six months.

I am currently in Guinea, in my capacity as Chairperson of the ECOWAS Authority, with the President of Côte d’Ivoire, H.E. Alassane Ouattara, to hold talks with the military leadership in Guinea led by Col. Mamadi Doumbouya, centering largely on the fate of President Alpha Conde. pic.twitter.com/8RnDIglLwF

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) September 17, 2021

They also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of President Alpha Conde who has been detained since he was ousted on September 5, 2021, by an elite army unit led by a former French legionnaire, Lt. Col Mamady Doumbouya.

The regional body said the military rulers would be “individually and collectively responsible for the physical safety of President Conde” who is being held in detention at a military facility.

The bloc froze the financial assets and imposed travel bans on Guinea’s military leaders and their relatives.

It called on the African Union, the  European Union, the United Nations, and other multilateral and bilateral partners to support the implementation of the sanctions against the Junta and to endorse the decisions taken by the Authority, for the restoration of constitutional rule in Guinea.

The Accra meeting, which also discussed the situation in Mali, demanded that Mali’s transitional authorities adhere strictly to the transition timetable for the effective conduct of elections within the non-negotiable deadline of February 2022.

Anyone stalling the transitional process, the body warned, would face the same sanctions taken against Guinea’s military government.

ECOWAS requested President Akufo-Addo to visit Guinea and Mali as soon as possible to convey in person, the decision arrived at during the Accra Summit.