The Gambia election: Buhari hosts West African leaders

President Muhammadu Buhari will today host four other West African leaders to a meeting aimed at avoiding violence and preserving democracy in The Gambia. This is being done in furtherance of his mandate as mediator.

According to a statement on Sunday by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, Buhari and the immediate past President of Ghana, John Mahama as Mediator and Co-Mediator respectively, have also been mandated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to ensure the safety of the President-elect, Adama Barrow and ensure a peaceful handover of power on January 19.

The statement said the meeting in Abuja follows an earlier one held in Accra on the sidelines of the inauguration of that country’s President which expressed the readiness of the leaders of the sub-region to continue the pursuit of dialogue with the leaders of The Gambia.

The Presidents of Liberia and Senegal, the Vice President of Sierra-Leone and ex-President Mahama are expected at the meeting.