President Yayi Boni Of Benin Republic "Defeats" Jonathan To Become AU Chairman

The President of Benin republic, Yayi Boni, has been elected as the chairman of the African Union (AU) after a group of West African nations led by Ghana opposed the candidature of Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan.

Boni will be taking over the chairmanship of the African Union (AU) from Equatorial Guinea's dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema.

Mr. Jonathan had injected himself into the contest as a last minute attempt to become the chair of AU but his effort was stoutly opposed by Ghana leading several West African nations that claimed Mr. Boni's nomination was already agreed upon at a mini-summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

It was not clear if Mr. Jonathan withdrew his candidature after ECOWAS member states blocked his bid to become the AU chair. However, Mr. Boni was announced as the new chair of the African Union and takes over as Chairman at the 18th AU Summit in Addis Ababa yesterday Jan 29.