Buhari postpones The Gambia mediatory trip

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has postponed his trip to The Gambia form mediation on the political impasse to Friday.

It was earlier scheduled for Wednesday following a meeting of some leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja on Monday.

Buhari is expected to lead the High Level ECOWAS group also made up of other heads of state in the sub-region.

According to a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Tuesday, the shifting of the trip was at the instance of President Yahya Jammeh

The statement said in accepting to postpone the visit, President Buhari, who is mediating alongside Mr. John Mahama, the immediate past president of Ghana said the delay notwithstanding, the mandate of the ECOWAS will be accomplished.

President Buhari reiterated the appeal on Monday by ECOWAS leaders that the Gambian leaders do everything they can to douse the tension in the West African country, which has led citizens to leave the country due to political uncertainty.

He affirmed that ECOWAS is committed to the resolution of the crisis through inclusive dialogue with respect to the constitution and the will of the people of Gambia.

The leaders had agreed in their meeting in Abuja on Monday have agreed that President  Buhari and a few others leaders should return to Banjul, The Gambia, to continue with mediatory efforts to resolve the political logjam in that country.

Emerging from the meeting at the   Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday, they stressed the need to conform to the Constitution of The Gambia and the will the people.

Present at the meeting were President of Liberia, Sirleaf Ellen-Johnson; President of Senegal, Macky Sall, immediate past president of Ghana, John Mahama who is co-mediator along with Buhari and Chairman of ECOWAS Commission, Mohammed Ibn Chambas.

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, read out the decisions taken by the leaders, saying that Buhari would visit The Gambia on Wednesday along with his counterparts from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal as well the co-mediator and Mahama.

The leaders expressed concern over reports harassment of independent media in the country which has led to the shutting down of some radio stations as well as the refugee crisis that is developing with the movement of people to the interior and other neighboring countries.

Crisis arose as a result of the decision of President Yahya Jammeh to reject the outcome of the presidential election conducted in the country having previously conceded defeat.