President Buhari Jets Off To Gambia To Resolve Their Presidential dispute

President Buhari Jets Off To Gambia To Resolve Their Presidential dispute

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari will be headed to Gambia to help resolve the brewing political dispute in the West African country.

According to Premium Times, Buhari is set to join his Liberian counterpart, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to persuade long-serving Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to concede defeat in the recently concluded presidential election.

The Nigerian leader is expected to help persuade Mr. Jammeh to leave office and would also meet with the newly elected Adama Barrow to try to seek a soft landing for the outgoing dictator.

This was confirmed Monday evening by the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu who stated that “there is diplomacy going on.”

Mr. Jammeh, who initially conceded defeat to opposition candidate Barrow after what he’d described as a “rig-proof” election, later reneged; saying he would order a fresh election to be overseen by “righteous individuals.”

His stunning u-turn drew criticisms from observers and international organisations like ECOWAS, the UN, AU and the U.S. who have all asked him to respect the wish of Gambians and relinquish power after he assumed leadership via a coup d’état in 1994.