President Muhammadu Buhari will once again lead a delegation of West African leaders to mediate on lingering political impasse in Gambia.
The 3-man team will try again to convince President Yahya Jammeh lost December 1 elections to hand over peacefully. A meeting Monday in Abuja agreed on the mission, Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyema said of the second presidential delegation from the Economic Community of West African States to visit Gambia.
The West African bloc has said it has a military force on standby if Jammeh refuses to cede power when his mandate expires January 19.
Leaders from the bloc met Saturday in Ghana on the sideline of the inauguration of President Nana Akufo-Addo said they were working on a diplomatic solution.
Onyema told journalists on Monday that “every option is on the table” and “violence should be avoided, but nothing is ruled out.” He said the regional bloc is “prepared and determined to take advantage of any of the options that it feels is appropriate” to install election winner Adama Barrow as the rightful president.
The meeting on Monday also has in attendance the presidents of Liberia and Senegal, which would lead any military intervention. The EU, US and the international community in general has expressed support for the enforcement Gambia’s Constitution.
Meanwhile, President Jammeh has continued his clamp down on the media with the closure of several radio stations and arrest of the opposition.
