Adama Barrow Swears In 10-Ministers, Newly Freed Political Prisoners Among

Gambia’s President Adama Barrow has sworn-in 10 cabinet ministers in the capital Banjul on Wednesday.

Among them are political prisoners during exiled former President Yahya Jammeh’s regime including leader of the main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) Ousainou Darboe, Omar Jallow, women’s right activist Dr Isatou Touray and National Treasurer of UDP Amadou Sanneh who was released from prison on Monday.

Gambia's President Adama Barrow Names Woman As Vice President (Photo)

Ajaratou Fatoumata Tambajang has been appointed as Vice President of The Republic of The Gambia. Tambajang, a prominent pro-democracy activist was part of the opposition coalition that unseated long time ruler Yahya Jammeh.

See Photos Of Nigerian Army And Navy As They Prepared To Join Troops In Gambia

To protect President Adama Barrow and ensure Yahyah Jammeh keeps to the deadline he was given to leave power, regional troops have entered Gambia and are ready to fight if resistance is encountered.

Troops from Senegal are already in Gambia and making their way to Banjul. The Nigerian Air Force, NAF, has also arrived Gambia as part of the ECOWAS Military intervention in Gambia. However, the NAF disclosed Thursday on their Facebook account that the Nigerian Army and the Navy were getting ready to join other troops in Gambia.

NAF revealed that two NAF C-130 aircraft airlifted troops of the Nigerian Army and men of the Nigerian Navy Special Boat Services to Senegal yesterday. They also went on to share photos as the Nigerian troops got ready to leave for Senegal from where they will enter Gambia.

Troops, Nigerian Warship Head For Gambia To Sack Jammeh

Nigeria soldiers will, on Wednesday (today), arrive at a base of the Economic Community of West African States troops in Senegal to ensure that President Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia steps down on Thursday, January 19.

Nigerian warship, NNS UNITY, is also heading for the coast of The Gambia to join the operation.

The Punch learnt from a top military source in the Nigerian Air Force that the troops would be briefed by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, in the early hours of Wednesday, before leaving for Senegal.

It was gathered that apart from the NAF and the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Army would also contribute troops, although the number of deployment could not yet be ascertained as of the time of filing this report.

The source said some of the NAF fighter jets were expected to airlift the troops.

He said, “I can confirm to you that men of the Air Force will leave for Senegal tomorrow (Wednesday). They will be briefed by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, at the Kainji base in Niger State.

“That Nigeria is deploying troops is now a certainty after several meetings with The Gambian president yielded no result. The Chiefs of Defence Staff of ECOWAS countries came to Abuja on Saturday, where they discussed what components each member state is expected to contribute to the troops that will force Yahya Jammeh out.

“The troops are expected to stay for two weeks and they will be received at a base in Senegal.”
Another military source added, “The NNS Unity is currently sailing off the coast of Ghana, after leaving from Lagos. It is not only Nigeria. Senegal is the host country for the troops, as it would be easy to launch an attack from there.”

The Defence Headquarters, Abuja, however, said it could not confirm the deployments, adding that it was a matter being coordinated by political leaders.

Source: punch

Gambian Foreign Affairs Minister Resigns Amid Political Crisis

Neneh Macdouall Gaye, the Minister of foreign affairs of the Islamic republic of Gambia has resigned from her position due to the country’s political crisis, with President Yah Yahya Jammeh refusing to step down for president-elect Adama Barrow. In a letter addressed to the country’s President, Yahya Jammeh, she indicated that:

'After due deliberation, I am of the conviction that under the prevailing circumstances, I cannot effectively serve as Foreign Minister. I thank you for the opportunity you gave me to serve my country.'

She has now joined the Ministers of Trade, Environment and Finance who have also resigned in Mr.Jammeh's government, whose regime ends on Thursday, January 19, 2017.

8-year-Old Son Of Gambian President-Elect Adama Barrow Dies After He Was Bitten By Dog (Photo)

The eight-year-old son of Gambian President-elect Adama Barrow has died after being bitten by a dog on Sunday, January 15th.

Habibou Barrow, born in 2010, reportedly died on the way to the hospital in Manjai near Banjul. He was buried this afternoon. Mr Barrow is in the Senegalese capital Dakar ahead of his planned inauguration on Thursday. It is not clear if he returned for the funeral.

The President-elect's media team confirmed the news to local Gambia news on Monday.

"Yes, Habitou Barrow passed away last night after being bitten by a dog. He was the 8 years old son of Adama Barrow's second wife. He will be laid to rest today at 2 pm,"

Gambia’s President-Elect To Stay In Senegal Until His Inauguration Amid Crisis

Gambia’s president-elect Adama Barrow is to stay in Senegal until his planned inauguration on Thursday (19th of January), when the tenure of President Yahya Jammeh who has refused to step down will end.

President Yahya Jammeh is currently refusing to step down after disputing the result of the December 1 election won by Barrow, triggering a crisis in the country despite attempts by African leaders to convince him to step down.

Yesterday,  it was confirmed Senegalese President Macky Sall had accepted a request by Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to host Gambia’s president-elect Adama Barrow in Dakar until his inauguration day.

Speaking to AFP, Barrow's spokesman, Mai Fatty said:

'Jammeh’s term shall end on the 19th (of January) and the same date president-elect Barrow’s term begins. Nothing will change that. He will be sworn in and shall assume office on that date without fail.'

West African Leaders Set Four-Days Deadline To Resolve Gambia Crisis

West African leaders meeting at a Franco-African summit in the Malian capital Bamako on Saturday set Jan. 19 as a deadline to solve the Gambian political crisis, Radio France Internationale quoted Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe as saying.

January 19 is the date when president-elect Adama Barrow has vowed to take power, despite outgoing President Yahya Jammeh not accepting his defeat in the December 1 election.

Barrow attended the summit bringing together French President Francois Hollande and more than 30 African leaders, while Jammeh was absent.

“The choice of Gambian voters in favour of Adama Barrow must be respected,” Hollande said.

Barrow arrived in Bamako with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who had met both him and Jammeh in the Gambian capital Banjul on Friday.

A statement from Barrow’s office said Jammeh’s meeting with Buhari and other mediators from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was “unproductive.”

Barrow’s spokesman Halifa Sallah said ECOWAS would nevertheless continue its mediation efforts.

Gambia has been in a political deadlock since Barrow, a real estate mogul who was little known before he announced his candidacy, defeated Jammeh in the election.

Jammeh, who has ruled the small West African nation for 22 years with an iron fist, has filed a petition to challenge the election result at the Supreme Court.

The talks with ECOWAS came several hours after Gambia’s ruling party filed a motion with the Supreme Court to prevent Barrow from being sworn into office on January 19.

The African Union said Friday said it will cease to recognize Jammeh as president after that date.

ECOWAS earlier pledged to send troops to ensure a peaceful transition of power in Gambia if Jammeh persists in his refusal to step down.

Source: PM News

Release Biafra And I Will Release Gambia - Jammeh Challenge Buhari

The outgoing Gambian leader, Yahya Jammeh, has accused Buhari, for asking him to step down for a democratically elected president.

He said Buhari has no moral right to ask me to handover power, when Nnamdi Kanu is still in the prison for no reasons. He made it clear that President Buhari is holding Biafrans captive in Nigeria.

We know he hate them, so he should let them go for his own good. However, until the IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is released, Buhari should stop interfering with issues concerning my country! Yahya Jammeh of Gambia.

West Africa Ready To Deploy Troops To Gambia

The 15-nation ECOWAS West African bloc will ask the UN Security Council to approve the deployment of troops to the Gambia if its longtime leader Yahya Jammeh refuses to step down, a UN envoy said Friday.

Mohamed Ibn Chambas said a delegation of ECOWAS leaders to Banjul were to make clear to Jammeh that they were prepared to use force to ensure a handover of power to president-elect Adama Barrow.

“They plan to leave no doubt about the determination of ECOWAS to use all necessary means, including force, to have the will of the Gambian people upheld,” Chambas told the Security Council.

“Should this be deemed necessary, ECOWAS intends to seek the endorsement of the AU Peace and Security Commission and the formal approval of this council to deploy troops to the Gambia,” he added.

The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) has repeatedly called on Jammeh to respect the result of the December 1 election and step down after 22 years in power.

The African Union has said it will no longer recognize Jammeh as head of state as of January 19.

The ECOWAS delegation, led by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, flew out of Banjul late Friday with Barrow and was to hold talks with other regional leaders in Mali.

The council last month demanded in a unanimous statement that Jammeh recognize the outcome of the election and transfer power to Barrow.

President Buhari Arrives Gambia To Continue His Role As Mediator In The Country's Political Crisis (Photos)

President Buhari arrived Banjul, the capital of Gambia, today to continue his role as the chief mediator in the political crisis in Gambia. Shortly after arriving the country, he met with President Yahya Jammeh and will also meet with the President-elect, Adama Barrow to continue his dialogue towards finding lasting solution to the crisis.

The incumbent president has said he will not vacate office for the president-elect Adama Narrow, whom he lost to in the country's presidential election in December last year.

President Buhari is joined by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia and Chairperson of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, President Ernest Koroma of Sierra Leone, and the immediate past President of Ghana, John Mahama

See More photos below...

We Are Not Planning To Attack Gambia - Nigerian Army

The Nigerian Army released a statement denying a report by Premium Times that it was planning to send troops to Gambia to forcefully remove the incumbent President, Yahya Jammeh, who has refused to leave office despite losing in the Presidential election in December last year. Read the statement signed by Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman, Director Army Public Relations, after the cut.

The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a publication by Premium Times online news medium titled "EXCLUSIVE: Nigeria raises troops for Gambia, ready to remove Yahya Jammeh".

This is not true.

Consequently, Nigerian Army wishes to disassociate itself from such false information that exists only in the figment of the imagination of the medium. There was no time or place Nigerian Army disclosed such information to the medium. If there is any, we challenge them to name the officer or soldier that gave them such information and when.

For the avoidance of doubt, Nigerian Army is not planning to attack any country.

It should be noted that such reckless and unprofessional conduct is not expected of any reputable and responsible news medium as it is inimical to national security.

The publication apart from being false in its entirety, it is unethical and capable of endangering the lives of Nigerians in diaspora.

The medium is please requested to always clarify such matters affecting national security and diplomatic issues that may endanger the safety and security of Nigerians abroad to avoid such misleading and embarrassing publication.

The House Of Representatives Is Trying To Seek A Safe Haven For Yahya Jammeh In Nigeria

The House of Representatives on Wednesday admitted a motion seeking a safe haven for outgoing President of The Gambia, Mr. Yahya Jammeh, in Nigeria.

 

According to The Punch, the motion will be formally debated on Thursday (today).

A member from Jigawa State and former National President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Mr. Sani Zoro, moved the motion under matters of urgent public importance.

 

The session was presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara.

However, the motion would have been rejected outright but for Dogara, who ruled that it should be admitted for debate.

 

Dogara had advised members to wait till Thursday’s debate (today) to either reject or accept the motion by passing a resolution on the matter.

The kernel of the motion, according to Zoro, is that Jammeh can come to Nigeria to rest, where his safety can be guaranteed while he is out of office.

 

He said this was part of efforts to ensure that there was a crisis-free transition in The Gambia, following the December 1, 2016, presidential poll, which Jammeh lost.

He was defeated by Mr. Adama Barrow, who is waiting to take over from him.

Jammeh had initially accepted defeat by congratulating Barrow.

 

However, he later reneged on his promise to hand over power, opting instead to contest the outcome of the result in court.

Some leaders of the sub-regional body, ECOWAS, including President Muhammadu Buhari of 

 

Nigeria, have been mediating in what appears to be a looming political crisis in The Gambia and how to avert it.

Only on Tuesday, the House, through the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, had insisted that Jammeh should step down.

 

It also stated that as a parliament in the West African subregion, it would support the position of the leaders on Jammeh.

 

Dogara had stated, “We wish to commend the President of Nigeria and indeed the leadership of ECOWAS for their principled stance on the matter.”

Gambia's Jammeh Promises To Abide By Constitution, Issues Order Against Arrests

Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh has issued an executive order against pre and post-election related arrests or prosecution in a bid to restore confidence and security in the country.

The outgoing president made the call during a national address Tuesday night after Gambia’s Supreme Court adjourned an election petition hearing filed by the ruling party against the December 1 election results.
“I hereby issue an executive order to that effect that nobody be arrested or prosecuted due to acts or omissions in the pre and post electoral period from November 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017,” he said.

He added that the country’s secretary-general will work with the Ministry of Justice and the National Assembly to draft a general amnesty bill to confirm and ensure that there is no witch-hunt.
A number of people including journalists have been arrested during the electioneering crisis and many others have fled the country including Electoral Commissioner Alieu Momarr Njai and recently resigned Minister of Communication Sheriff Bojang who have “fled for their lives” to neighbouring Senegal.

Jammeh also announced that the secretary-general and head of civil service will hold a meeting with all stakeholders to resolve the issues in a bid to build trust.
He assured Gambians that he will abide by the constitution to resolve the political crisis sparked by his refusal to step down due to allegations of electoral fraud after initially conceding defeat to opposition leader Adama Barrow.

“I assure everyone that as a Gambian, a Muslim, and a family man no foreigner can love this country and hold its highest interest of heart more than myself and the majority of Gambians. So I will also be taking all possible steps within the constitution and my conscience to do my part to resolve this impasse,” he said.

His address ended with an appeal to Gambians and foreigners in the country to go about their regular business in peace.

“As we are all human and bound to make mistakes, we therefore accept this as a test on our faith … I ask all Gambians and other nationals in the country to go about their business in peace and security and I assure you that Allah willing all will continue to be well and this will all be resolved in peace,” he concluded.

A meeting scheduled for Wednesday between ECOWAS, led by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and Gambia’s outgoing president was postponed to Friday upon request of Jammeh.

ECOWAS pursues peaceful mediation over military intervention in Gambia

The Economic Community of West African States has depended on understanding the emergency in Gambia utilizing tranquil intercession as against the prior proposed military mediation.
The administrator of the West African local alliance, Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, told the media in Ghana's capital, Accra on Saturday that ECOWAS is seeking after intervention until further notice and there will be no troop sending to The Gambia.

"We are focused on a serene intercession and a quiet move of force in The Gambia. We will keep on pursueing that for the time being," Sirleaf said after a meeting with provincial pioneers held after the initiation of Ghana's new president.

She likewise expressed that the territorial body is checking occasions as The Gambia's Supreme Court hears the case on January 10 recorded by Jammeh's gathering to wipe out the decision result and hold crisp races.

A year ago, the president of the ECOWAS Commission Marcel de Souion could be utilized if intervention endeavors which led by Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari and Ghana's previous President John Dramani Mahama, neglect to induce Jammeh to surrender control.

Jammeh then again portrayed ECOWAS' position as announcing war furthermore an affront to the Gambian constitution which has clear rules on the most proficient method to fathom its inward emergency.

Senegal has said that military mediation ought to be the final resort in the emergency trusting Jammeh will see reason and handover official power gently.

ECOWAS is relied upon to hold a meeting on Monday in Abuja to take a ultimate conclusion.

Gambia: Nigeria trusts Jammeh will exit through the front door

Nigeria underpins a serene determination to the current political emergency in the Gambia where its leader has been named as middle person by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

President Buhari and John Dramani Mahama of Ghana were entrusted to draw in partners in the Gambia to determine a political emergency which emerged after the December 1 presidential surveys.

As indicated by Nigeria's Foreign Affairs serve, Geoffery Onyeama, Nigeria still trusted that active Jammeh will regard the call to venture down. ''We might want to trust that he would listen to the voice of his companions in the sub-area.

What's more, that he will likewise listen to the voice of his kin, however most importantly he will take after the vote based way. So we are doing everything conceivable to realize that,'' Onyeama told the News Agency of Nigeria.

Jammeh has portrayed the determination of ECOWAS to authorize the aftereffects of the last decisions as a demonstration of obstruction in the interior issues of the gathering – which is a break of convention. He has additionally expelled the ECOWAS just like an incomplete middle person with a one-dimensional position. The gathering is on record to have said they will send troops into the minor West African nation if the need emerges.

Jammeh had at first yielded misfortune in the surveys to the restriction coalition competitor, Adama Barrow, before turning around his choice refering to anomalies as conceded by the discretionary body. He said a rerun of the surveys is the main quiet course to closure the impasse.

Jammeh's gathering has documented a race appeal to at the Supreme Court, the main hearing is slated for January 10, 2017 only nine days from the introduction of Adama Barrow. The Army has vowed bolster for Jammeh and the races boss fled to Senegal subsequent to getting demise dangers.

Gambia shaken by fake news claiming the passing of President-elect Barrow

Fake news coursing via web-based networking media claiming the death of Gambia's President-elect Adama Barrow has expanded strain in the nation confronting instability after refusal of active president to venture down.

The news connected to a fake news site and conveyed generally by web journals in Nigeria among others on Wednesday night was broadly shared via web-based networking media raising doubts particularly after news broke that Gambia's armed force boss had vowed bolster for President Yahya Jammeh.

It took endeavors from a few colleagues columnists to impugn the fake news which had flowed generally.

"Mr Barrow and the whole individuals from the coalition are all here and continuing on ahead. Gambians ought to overlook this bits of gossip and proceed with their arrangements to initiate their leader on January 19," Gambian neighborhood media JollofNews cites an anonymous individual from the resistance.

Gambian writer Fatu Camara additionally tweeted saying: "News circling that President Elect Barrow is murdered is fake. Cart is well and safe, he completed a meeting a while prior".

She however said there were reports that individuals from the coalition gathering were emptying to safe houses because of dangers by the powers.

Adama Barrow is the third essential identity to have been accounted for dead by a fake news site in three months after Africa's wealthiest man Aliko Dangote and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir.

The Nigerian business person in September a year ago reported via web-based networking media that he was alive, while the South Sudanese pioneer drove around the capital Juba to demonstrate to general society that he is alive.

Gambia: Jammeh has our 'determined steadfastness and support' – Army boss

Gambia's Chief of Defense Staff, Lt. Gen. Ousman Badgie, says President Yahya Jammeh has the 'determined steadfastness and support' of the armed force.

''May I please grab this chance to likewise restore to Your Excellency the affirmation of the undaunted dependability and support of The Gambia Armed Forces to Your Excellency, the Government and People of The Gambia,'' Badgie's New Year salutary message distributed in the ace government Daily Observer read.

''Kindly allow me to praise you for your showed individual responsibility to The Gambia Armed Forces which is guided by your vision of making The Gambia Armed Forces not just as a standout amongst the most created armed forces yet that which is second to none on the planet,'' he included.

This is the most recent contort to the political emergency that has emerged from the December 1 surveys which Jammeh lost, yielded overcome before backtracking from his prior position.

There were reports on Wednesday of captures of restriction activists in the nation days to the opening of a race appeal to case recorded by Jammeh's gathering. Three radio systems have likewise been closed down.

An Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) designation was meeting with Jammeh and Barrow in Banjul in an offer to direct the little West African nation from an emergency. Jammeh has however dismisses the ECOWAS intervention portraying it as one dimensional and one-sided.

Gambia's insight boss requests conclusion of 'hostile to Jammeh' radio station

A radio station esteemed to be disparaging of the Jammeh organization has been closed around the Gambian National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on Sunday.

An individual from staff of exclusive Taranga FM affirmed to AFP news organization that they were requested that stop transmission on Sunday by NIA authorities. A security official likewise affirmed the request of conclusion.

"Four NIA specialists and a formally dressed policeman went to the radio this evening (Sunday) around 2:30 pm (neighborhood and GMT) and instructed us to quit broadcasting," the Teranga FM staff told AFP on state of obscurity.

"They let us know that they had been told by NIA Director General Yankuba Badjie to instruct us to quit transmitting with quick impact," the source included.

A security source on her part said, "We just requesting that they quit broadcasting, they participated with us" and did it "toward the evening," she said, declining any further remarks.

The powers however have yet to give reasons why they requested the conclusion of Taranga FM. Nearby media sources say the station is likewise observed as the official mouth bit of the president-elect, Adama Barrow's camp. Neighborhood media sources are additionally reporting that another station, Hill Top FM, has likewise been shut.

Taranga FM is a prevalent radio station in The Gambia due to its every day interpretation into national dialects ​​of the news distributed by the Gambian daily papers.

Since its initiation, it has been shut a few circumstances and has frequently been revived restrictively as in 2011, when it was permitted to resume its exercises yet denied from tending to the subjects raised by the private press. Its writers were likewise some of the time summoned to the NIA, captured or attempted.

Gambia: Jammeh will turn into a revolt on January 19 if ... - restriction

Gambia's restriction coalition says the active president Yahya Jammeh consequently turns into a revolt on the nineteenth of January in the event that he neglects to gently exchange energy to President-elect Adama Barrow.

Representative of the coalition, Halifa Sallah, told Radio France International on Wednesday that regardless they regarded the way that Jammeh was still the president and that they were proceeding with arrangements for Barrow's initiation on the nineteenth.

''We trust that on the nineteenth (January) his (Jammeh's) term will lapse, and president-elect Barrow will accept office, he will be the president of the Armed Forces so we anticipate that President Jammeh will handover gently and in the event that he neglects to do as such on that day, he turns into a revolt.

''Anyone in the Armed Forces ought to likewise owe constancy to the State, to the Republic, and in this way ought to take after the order of the president-elect, else they additionally get to be dissidents,'' he said because of their association with the armed force as at now.

They had expressed a week ago that no court could topple the triumph of Barrow in the December 1 surveys.

"President-elect Adama Barrow is certain to have won the race and that no court on this planet will have the capacity to take an opposite choice, tt is his position that he (Barrow) is not going to depend on what the Court will do however on the consequences of the race and we won't estimate on what this Court will choose," Sallah said.

He said Jammeh could without much of a stretch have been a political good example like Ghana's John Dramani Mahama however for his U-turn and require a rerun of the surveys that saw him lose control without precedent for a long time.

''ECOWAS has officially chosen the president of Nigeria furthermore the president of Ghana – who is likewise an active president. He is currently simply remaining for 30 days, he ought to be a good example to active president Jammeh.

''Active president Jammeh would have been a model since he acknowledged the outcomes and in the event that he permitted a smooth move, now he would have been cited as a model. So we expect that these two individuals will come and proceed with the arrangements so that the offering of our constitution and the will of our kin will be declared,'' he included.