President Akufo-Addo in his opening remarks at the fifth extraordinary meeting of the authority of ECOWAS on the political situation in Guinea, Burkina Faso and Mali described them as “recalcitrant member states” and called for swift and “appropriate decisions on the way forward”.

In an unusual manner, President Akufo-Addo who is known for giving opening remarks that last an average of four minutes in the previous four extraordinary sessions since the sessions started in Ghana a year ago did just a minute.

He welcomed his colleagues back to Accra again to take stock of where they were with “the three recalcitrant member states, Mali Guinea and Burkina Faso and take appropriate decisions on the way forward”.

He thanked his colleagues for attending the fifth extraordinary meeting of the authority of ECOWAS heads of state and the political situations Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso and declared the meeting duly opened.

He said this was a clear indication of their determination to assume the responsibilities for the security of ECOWAS.

The heads of states moved straight into a close session after President Akufo-Addo's remarks.