The Chiefs of Defence Staff of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, are currently in a meeting at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.
The meeting is chaired by Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who is the chairman of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff.
At the meeting are the Minister of Defence Mohammed Badaru, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar, and Chairman of Senate Committee on Defence, Ahmed Lawan.
Others are the Chairman of House Committee of Defence, representative of the National Security Adviser, Chief of Defence Staff Christopher Musa and service chiefs, and the Chief of Defence Staff of ECOWAS countries, except Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, General Christopher Musa, has called on ECOWAS Defense Chiefs to always uphold democratic values.
He gave this advice at the 42nd Ordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff in Abuja on Wednesday.
Musa decried military takeover in some West African countries, saying it has created unintended consequences and threatened democratic values in the region.
According to him, the threat of military takeover must be destroyed, adding that it negates the core values and responsibilities of the military profession.
He further stated that in democratic countries, the military must uphold democratic values in line with the principles of their constitutions.
Also speaking, the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar; and his Foreign Affairs counterpart, Yusuf Tuggar; tasked the service chiefs from the regional bloc to tackle terrorism through effective collaboration to combat the illicit movement of small arms and light weapons in the West African sub-region.
The meeting held at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja has regional security as one of its agenda at a time the bloc is considering the establishment of a force that will counter security challenges.
Credit: dailypost.ng
