His Excellency Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Chairman of ECOWAS has received 
with deep concern and sadness, news of the assassination of His Excellency, 
João Bernardo Nino Vieira, President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau and 
General Tagme na Waie, Chief of Defence Staff of the Armed Forces of Guinea-
Bissau.  The murder of the President and Chief of Defence Staff are condemned 
in the strongest of terms as reprehensible and acts that undermine democracy, 
peace and stability in Guinea-Bissau.  The fragile political situation in 
Guinea-Bissau has been further weakened by these events.  This is regretted as 
it comes at a time when the West African region is making a forward march in 
the development of democratic governance.
President Yar’Adua has emphasized the importance of constitutional succession 
to the Presidency after the unfortunate events.  He called on the Armed Forces 
and other Security Agencies of Guinea-Bissau to desist from any actions likely 
to plunge the country further into lawlessness and political instability. 
All peace loving citizens of Guinea-Bissau are called upon to exercise a high 
sense of responsibility and moderation in their actions and utterances at this 
critical and testing period in their national life.  The Chairman of ECOWAS 
will dispatch a foreign ministerial delegation to Bissau comprising Ministers 
from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia and Senegal, and 
accompanied by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, on Tuesday, March 3, 
2009.  The delegation will engage all stakeholders in an effort to restore 
confidence among the political actors, civil society and security services and 
return the country to constitutional normalcy.
The Chairman of ECOWAS expresses his deep condolences to the families and 
loved ones of late President Joao Bernardo Vieira and General Tagme and to the 
entire people of Guinea-Bissau on their tragic demise.  He paid tribute to 
them as patriots who had fought for the liberation of the country from 
colonial rule and served in the post-independent period to build the country. 
He entreated the people of Guinea-Bissau to take their demise, as tragic as it 
is, as an opportunity for national reconciliation and unity.