By Nifemi Adefemi
(With Agency reports)
President Ali Bongo has been ousted in a military coup in Gabon.
Bongo, who was declared winner of Saturday’s disputed election, came to power after the death of his father in 2009.
He was reported to have won a third term in an election which opposition argued was heavily disputed.
Agency reports claimed tensions were running high amid fears of unrest after Saturday’s presidential, parliamentary, and legislative vote, which saw Bongo seeking to extend his family’s 56-year grip on power while the opposition pushed for change in the oil and cocoa-rich but poverty-stricken nation.
A lack of international observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts, and the authorities’ decision to cut internet service and impose a night-time curfew nationwide after the poll raised concerns about the transparency of the electoral process.
Soldiers appeared on Gabonese national television in Gabon to say they had taken power and annulled Saturday’s election, according to reports.
The Gabon coup comes in the wake of efforts by ECOWAS to resolve the crisis in Niger Republic following the removal of President Mohamed Bazoum.
Both the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and African Union (AU), which have rejected the coup in Niger, are yet to react to the situation in Gabon .
Shortly after Saturday’s election in Gabon, opposition candidate Jean Ping called on President Ali Bongo to admit defeat, in what political observers saw as a challenge to the Bongo family’s half-century rule over the oil-rich nation.