Embattled Gambian out-gone President,Yahaya Jammeh is reportedly, currently writing an acceptance speech wherein he would agree to cede power and officially recognize Adama Barrow as his successor.
President Barrow, has confirmed this. On his twitter handle, he twitted, “I would like to inform you that Yahya Jammeh has agreed to step down. He is scheduled to depart Gambia today. #NewGambia.”
A France24 journalist in The Gambia, Nicolas Germain, also confirmed this in a tweet. According to him, Jammeh is “currently writing the statement where he accepts to leave, in the presence of Guinean officials.”
Recall that earlier today, Jammeh had asked a shift in deadline of midday to vacate office as ECOWAS soldiers closed in on him.
Government sources had said that the request was made when the leaders of Guinea and Mauritania arrived in the capital, Banjul, in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to get him to cede power.
Yahya Jammeh
The twitter handle of Charles Onyango-Obbot @cobbo3, a Ugandan journalist and author had equally reported that “ Jammeh asks for deadline extension – from midday (local time) to 4pm!” “He’s not done packing #Gambia.”
Meanwhile, after the inauguration of Adama Barrow, which held on Thursday, January 19, 2017, at the Gambian Embassy in Senegal, the presidential portrait of Yahya Jammeh was replaced with that of the internationally recognised President, Adama Barrow. The event happened at the UN Gambia’s mission in the United State.
U.N replaces Jammeh’s portrait with Barrow’s
Recall also that a regional military force that crossed the border in support of his democratically elected successor, Adama Barrow, was awaiting orders on Friday.
The West African troops entered the Gambia on Thursday night, hours after Barrow was forced to hold his inauguration as president in Dakar, the capital of Senegal.
De Souza said the west African force, which includes tanks, has so far met no resistance.
Watch wideo of ECOWAS troops entering The Gambia:
#Gambia people welcoming @ecowas_cedeao troops, eagerly awaiting for Jammeh to be removed! pic.twitter.com/mL8aJY8RlJ
— MamaLinguere Sarr (@mamasarr) January 20, 2017
Banjul, the capital, was deserted on Friday.
Dozens of vultures spread their wings on the large ground outside State House, and a lone cyclist, perhaps one of the few remaining tourists in the country, made the most of the empty roads.
The country’s chief of defence staff, Ousman Badjie, was seen speeding in the direction of Banjul. He has switched allegiance several times over the past month, and was celebrating with Barrow supporters in the streets last night.
