(By Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye – ABUJA)

President Muhammadu Buhari and other West African leaders are currently meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in a bid to resolve the brewing political impasse in The Gambia.

President Buhari is the Chief Mediator, while immediate past President of Ghana, John Mahama is the co-Mediator appointed by the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS to resolve the issue in order to preserve democracy and avoid violence.
Those at the meeting are the Liberia President and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Senegalese President Macky Sall.
The Vice President of Sierra Leone was expected to be at the meeting but as at the time of writing this report he was yet to arrive.

The meeting is expected to reach a resolution that will ensure  successful transition of power on January 19th from the outgoing President Yahaya Jammeh who has vowed not to leave office for the winner of the December 1, 2016 presidential election, Adama Barrow.

Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the top U.N. official in West Africa, also attended the closed-door meeting, which was the first official engagement by Ghana’s new President Nana Akufo-Addo, who was sworn in on Saturday.

Diplomats are concerned about the impasse over the poll.

The United States warned its citizens on Saturday against visiting Gambia, whose white beaches are a draw for tourists.

“The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens against travel to The Gambia because of the potential for civil unrest and violence in the near future,” the statement said.

Jammeh, a former coup leader, who has ruled Gambia for 22 years, initially accepted his defeat by opposition figure Adama Barrow in the Dec. 1 election.

But a week later reversed his position, vowing to hang on to power despite a wave of regional and international condemnation.

(Source: DAILY SUN, NAN)