Among several prominent political office holders who attended Barrow’s inauguration were Ghana’s incumbent president, Nana Akufo-Addo and immediate past president, John Dramani Mahama.
The new president of The Gambia, Adama Barrow was formally sworn into office on Saturday, February 18, 2017. Barrow’s inauguration comes after the country’s sit-tight president, Yahya Jammeh finally stepped down.
Jammeh who initially conceded following the presidential elections held on December 1, turned around to dispute the election results on grounds of some electoral malpractice, calling for a new election exercise and refusing to vacate his office.
However, international bodies such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) intervened in the situation, disagreeing with him. It took series of talks and finally a visible threat of forceful removal, for former president Jammeh to agree to step down; but that was still after reaching some agreements with the bodies. See what finally made embattled Yahya Jammeh to step down.
President Nana Akufo-Addo among other prominent political office holders, including former president John Mahama were all present at the main inauguration of the new Gambian president in his home country, The Gambia.
The two presidents, incumbent and former were captured exchanging heart warming greetings full of genuine friendship – one that is indisputably non-artificial.
Meanwhile, with the tension that usually arise between members of the two major political parties in Ghana – the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC), many may be thinking that the relationship between president Akufo-Addo and former president Mahama would have turned cold. But these photos prove such thoughts wrong.
Also See: 10 Photos That Show Mahama And Nana Are Still Good Friends Afterall
It is hoped that the above photos will go a long way to discourage conflict between members and supporters of the opposing NPP and NDC, as they can clearly see that the people for whom they would want to kill one another at the onset of any slightest argument are getting on very well with each other.
After the ceremony, President Nana Addo addressed Ghanaians living in The Gambia, touching mostly on issues concerning the country’s economy and how to fix it through the 2017 budget.
Many Gambians have described the inauguration ceremony as the dawn of a new era in the country. Some have tagged it the beginning of a third republic after Yahya Jammeh’s 22 years reign. The ceremony which doubled as the country’s 52nd Independence Day Anniversary, saw the Independence Stadium, Banjul, packed to full capacity. Some of the attendees said they had to spend the night at the venue to make sure they never missed out on the activities.
Present at the occasion was Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who led diplomatic talks to remove former president Jammeh from office, and several other African leaders.
Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo was also present. The country’s president, Muhammadu Buhari who served as Chief-mediator for the Gambian crisis was absent, as he is currently on a very controversial sick leave in the United Kingdom.
President Adama Barrow was sworn-in by the new Chief Justice, Justice Hassan Jallow. He once again took the oath of office; he had previously done so at the Gambian Embassy in Senegal where he fled for refuge when the country’s political crisis deepened.
Addressing the crowd after his swearing in, President Barrow said he will ensure that cases involving Gambians who got missing during Jammeh’s rule are investigated. The 51-year-old president who described his inauguration as a victory for democracy, said he will see to the improvement of press freedom. He also indicated that he has ordered the release of prisoners, [numbering about 171] who were sentenced without trial.
Adama Barrow is The Gambia’s third President since after the country’s independence from British rule in 1965. Prior to his victory in the last election, he has never held any political office.
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