By NDI EUGENE NDI

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The newly appointed Prime Minister of Chad, Albert Pahimi Padacké, has urged Chadians put aside their differences and work for the peace and stability of the Sahel nation.

Chad’s military junta on Monday appointed 54-years-old Padacké as interim Prime Minister. Padacké also served as prime minister from 2016 to 2018 when the post was scrapped by late president Idriss Deby Itno.

The new PM told journalists in the Chadian capital Ndjamena that he is determined to ensure that citizens lay the foundation for a great national consensus so that at the end of the transition, a free and transparent election can be held.

“As Chadians, whether from the opposition, the majority, civil society, women or youth, the challenge we face is that of peace. The situation [in the country] deserves that we put aside our differences and improve our diversity to ensure that peace and stability are guaranteed,” Mr Padacké said on pan-African television channel, Africanews.

Mr Padacké, the president of the opposition National Rally for Democracy in Chad (RNDP-Le Réveil), was on Monday appointed prime minister by the Transitional Military Council headed by 37-years-old Mahamat Idriss Deby.

The military junta took over power following President Idriss Deby Itno’s death from injuries sustained in a frontline battle against the Libya-based rebel group, Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), a week ago. Deby, 68, had ruled the country for 30 years and had just won the country’s April 11 election to rule for another five-year term.

The junta that dissolved parliament and suspended the country’s constitution said it will rule for 18 months at the end of which an election will be organised.

The African Union expressed “grave concern” over the military takeover and urged stakeholders to respect the constitutional mandate and order. It also called on them “to expeditiously embark on a process of restoration of constitutional order and handing over of political power to the civilian authorities, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Chad, and create conducive conditions for a swift, peaceful, constitutional and smooth transition”.

A coalition of civil society groups and opposition politicians has called for a peaceful protest on Tuesday in Ndjamena to demand a return to “constitutional order.”