Benin President Patrice Talon on Friday said he would not stand for an unconstitutional third term in office but would be watching the choice of his successor closely.
The former businessman has been in charge of the small west African nation since 2016 and his second term of office comes to end next year.
“I’m telling you again for the umpteenth time, no, I will not be a candidate,” he said in an interview with Jeune Afrique.
“This question troubles me. I have strengthened the constitution myself to stipulate that no one can serve more than two terms in their life.”
The question over his succession was revived in September last year when one of his close friends, Olivier Boko, was arrested on suspicion of attempting a coup with the former sports minister Oswald Homeky.
The two men were sentenced to 20 years in prison in January for “plotting against the authority of the state”.
“I experienced the Olivier Boko episode like a drama and personal tragedy,” Talon was quoted as saying in the interview.
He said he would also be “careful” about the choice of his successor and intended to ensure that whoever took over does not want to reverse what he said was a decade of reforms.
“The next president of Benin will be my president, from my country, my family, my community and everything that is dear to me,” he added.
Talon went on to criticise “deteriorating” relations with Benin’s Sahelien neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso and the lack of security cooperation.
“We contact them regularly,” he said. “We don’t get a response.”
“Our army is facing terrorist groups that operate freely in sanctuaries deserted by the defence and security forces” of Niger and Burkina Faso, “which allows them to regroup and attack en masse,” he added.
Niger and Burkina Faso, with which Benin shares a northern border, are governed by military juntas which have turned their back on Western support.
Jihadist violence has spilled over Benin’s border but the authorities in Niamey and Ouagadougou accuse Benin of hosting foreign military bases with the aim of destabilising them.
“There is obviously nothing like this on Beninese soil,” he added.
