Several West African leaders are in the Gambian capital Banjul to witness Wednesday’s inauguration for a second five-year term of President Adama Barrow following his re-election last month.
Guinea Bissau’s president Umaro Embalo was the first to arrive on Tuesday evening followed by Mauritanian leader Mohamed Ahmed Ould Ghazouani, Togo’s Faure Gnassingbe, Sierra Leone’s Julius Maada Bio, Senegal’s Macky Sall, Liberia’s George Manneh Weah and Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari.
Some of these presidents played starring roles in Barrow’s assumption of power after the political impasse which followed his defeat of then incumbent Yahya Jammeh in 2016.
The 56-year-old estate developer was re-elected on December 4th 2021 with 53 percent of the vote ahead of his nearest challenger Ousainou Darboe who polled 27 percent of the ballot.
His investiture takes place at the Independence Stadium in the seaside town of Bakau, 7 miles from Banjul.
In his election campaign President Barrow had promised to tackle poverty, unemployment and infrastructural deficits in The Gambia which is also grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.
