After relinquishing power, there are indications that former Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, will leave the country to make room for the country’s new President, Adama Barrow, who took his oath of office on Thursday in Dakar, Senegal, to return home.
Jammeh did not disclose which country he will be going to, but State House sources said that the former Gambian leader will be leaving for Conakry, Guinea, on Saturday.
At a press briefing at 2 am Saturday morning, Jammeh said basically he is relinquishing power in the supreme interest of the nation because he does not want a single Gambian blood to shed.
Speaking in the presence of Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the Special Representative and head of the United Nations office for West Africa (UNOWA), and the President of Guinea, Alpha Condé, Jammeh said: “As a Muslim and patriot, I believe it’s not necessary that a single blood is shed.”
Jammeh’s decision to step down and hand over power came following rigorous and intense negotiation over the past weeks by ECOWAS for him to hand over power peacefully after losing the December 1, 2016, presidential elections to Barrow.
However, attempts by ECOWAS for Jammeh to step down peacefully failed with the regional bloc opting for military action.
But on Friday, January 20, 2017, the President of Guinea Alpha Condé, Mauritanian President Muhamad Abdul Ould Aziz and Mohammed Ibn Chambas were in the country to give peace a last chance which prompted ECOWAS to halt its military intervention.
