New President of The Gambia, Adama Barrow says he would officially take office on February 18, 2017, Independence Day of the nation just out of the 22-year vice grip of a dictator and former President- Yahya Jammeh now on exile.
The official inauguration is slated for Banjul, The Gambia’s capital, according to Barrow, who was sworn in as scheduled on Thursday, January 19, 2017 at the country’s embassy in the neighbouring Senegal after emerging victorious in an election in December last year.
Jammeh, who forcefully relinquished power on Saturday after weeks of intense negotiations that involved the United Nations, the African Union and the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is being accused of leaving the tiny nation bare, with about 500 dalasi or $11 million so far discovered missing.
Barrow had tweeted Monday on his personal handle: “The official Inauguration Ceremony is going to take place on our Independence Day — 18 February 2017 in Banjul.”
Ahead of his eventual return to Banjul from Senegal, and while the West African forces maintain the peace, Boris Johnson, Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs and Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in the United Kingdom, has expressed a desire to collaborate with the former British colony.
He tweeted on Sunday night: “Spoke to new #Gambia President Adama Barrow to congratulate him. We’re both looking forward to working together to strengthen UK-Gambia ties.”