Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has urged African leaders to uphold good governance as a means of lowering the frequency of military coups in West Africa.

This was made clear by Ganduje when he hosted a delegation from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which is currently in power in Ghana and is led by Mr. Stephen Ntim, the party's national chairman.

He noted the long historical affinity between Nigeria and Ghana, stating that it would be apt for the ruling parties of both counties to share ideas on delivering good governance to their citizens.

He argued that the people would fight back against any military incursions that could undermine democratic rule if effective governance systems were in place.

“This kind of visit is important and good to help us exchange ideas on how to deliver good governance to the people, and it can even reduce the tide of military incursions that we are witnessing recently.

“While we are discouraging military coups, we must improve our governance systems; when this is done, the masses will be the first to even resist any such military interventions”, the APC chairman said.

He described the visit of the NPP national chairman as an icebreaker that would strengthen the relationship between the ruling political parties of both countries.

This, he said, was especially because Ghana and Nigeria share the same values and political history.

Ganduje said the relationship between both countries was long-standing, noting that they passed through the same colonial masters and shared the same national language: English.

He recalled how both countries secured independence from Britain without shedding blood and spoke English as their official language, which further strengthened their bond among Francophone neighbors.

Ntim earlier congratulated Ganduje on his emergence as APC national chairman and Nigeria on her 63rd Independence Anniversary.

“We are happy and proud to be sharing this day with you. It signals greater days ahead, and we hope you will want to reciprocate this visit”, he said.

He told Ganduje that it would be significant for the APC and NPP to be sharing ideas on enthroning good governance so that the parties would remain in power for many more years.

The NPP national chairman said his party had a lot to learn from Ganduje and Nigeria’s ruling party, the APC.

“As a party, we have a lot to learn from Ganduje as an individual and from the APC as a political party,” he stressed.

He said his visit was to begin a journey between the ruling parties of the two countries on how to enthrone good governance in the interest of their citizens.

Ntim noted that Nigeria and Ghana had a long-standing relationship that could not be taken for granted, adding that since 2017, Ghanaian presidents have visited Nigeria 45 times.

He thanked the APC national chairman for accepting to meet with him in spite of the short notice, saying he looked forward to having him visit Ghana before long.

Ntim was accompanied on the visit by Ghanaian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Rashid Bawa and some officials of his party. (NAN)