President Bola Tinubu has urged all African leaders to take a cue from Ghana’s democracy in their constant bid to ensure unity and democratic maturity in the region.

“I urge all of us in the region to learn from this good democratic practice and prioritise our country’s national unity to ensure political stability of the region so that this manner of peaceful transition becomes the culture of democracy not only in West Africa but also in the entire Africa continent”, Mr Tinubu said at the opening of the 66th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS in Abuja on Sunday.

The president, who lauded Ghana for its peaceful conduct of recent elections, noted that the process ultimately set a democratic standard for the West African region.

“Despite the challenges of interrupted democratic governance in some West African countries, the region has continued to record democratic gains. Just a week ago, on December 7 2024, Presidential and Parliamentary elections took place in Ghana, the second-largest democracy in our region.

“One of the leading candidates who happens to be the incumbent Vice President, His Excellency Mahamudu Bawumia, together with the leadership of the ruling party, New Patriotic Party (NPP), conceded defeat and accepted the outcome of the Presidential election by congratulating the President-elect, His Excellency, John Dramani Mahama of National Democratic Congress (NDC) for his victory, even before the official announcement of the election results,” Mr Tinubu added.

Several international observers, including ECOWAS delegation, have praised the peaceful conduct of elections in Ghana. 

In his recent analysis of the entire process, INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, said Ghana learnt from Nigeria in most of the electoral process, lauding the country’s display of democratic maturity.