President Muhammadu Buhari arrived Banjul, The Gambia, this morning to meet with the country’s President, Yahya Jammeh, who lost the presidential election penultimate week.
The Nigerian leader, who arrived together with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, who is the current Chairperson of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, and President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra-Leone, were received at the airport by Gambia’s Vice-President, Isatou Njie-Saidy.
The out-going President of Ghana, John Mahama, who had earlier arrived Banjul, will join the other West African leaders to meet President Jammeh at the CoCo Ocean Resort and Spa, Banjul.
President Jammeh had earlier conceded defeat in the election, after a 22-year rule, but recanted a week later, asking for fresh polls to be conducted by a “god-fearing and independent electoral commission.”
President Buhari and the ECOWAS leaders will discuss the ensuing impasse in The Gambia with President Jammeh, and insist on the sanctity of the electoral process, and respect for the wishes of the people.
West African leaders and ECOWAS, the regional bloc, are trying to convince Jammeh to leave office using diplomacy and a subtle threat of force. Presidents Muhammadu Buhari, Ernest Bai Koroma, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson and John Mahama of Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana respectively led an ECOWAS delegation to visit Jammeh today (Dec. 13).
We will be asking President Jammeh to respect his country’s Constitution, and to maintain the inviolability of the electoral process.
— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) December 13, 2016
They would also ask their host to respect the Constitution of his own country, and maintain the inviolability of an electoral process that had been concluded, and in which he had admitted defeat, and congratulated his main challenger.
In Banjul, with other colleague Heads of State from the subregion, to help mediate post election issues in The Gambia. pic.twitter.com/5mYQ7Cvbdh
— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) December 13, 2016
The mediation continues. After our meeting with President Jammeh we met with President-Elect Adama Barrow. pic.twitter.com/4l88pPvsx2
— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) December 13, 2016