Adama Barrow to stay in Senegal until 'coast is clear'

Recently inaugurated president of The Gambia, Adama Barrow, has revealed he will be ruling the country from his hide out in Dakar, Senegal until he gets security clearance from ECOWAS.

Mr Barrow was sworn into office on Thursday at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar because Yahya Jammeh refused to relinquish power after losing elections in December.

Mr Jammeh cites irregularities during the electoral process in December.

Mr Barrow, a political novice, won the elections to end the over two-decades-old grip on power by Mr Jammeh.

Since the announcement by the country's electoral commission, Mr Jammeh has sought to use various means to extend his rule, calling for fresh elections at some point.

“I cannot state a day and time [to return to The Gambia] but it will be sooner than later...I am in consultation with ECOWAS and when the coast is clear I will return home, very soon,” he told a Gambian-based journalist, Adolphus Mawolo.

He said his team in Dakar has already gotten names for his cabinet and would soon be made public.

Yahya Jammeh, who has been ruling the country for more than twenty years announced on Friday that he will step down, after breaching two deadlines given him by the ECOWAS forces to leave office.

Mr Jammeh announced on state TV that "not necessary that a single drop of blood be shed", however, that pronouncement has not convinced many who fear Mr Jammeh's erratic behaviour.

The statement followed hours of talks between Mr Jammeh and West African mediators. He gave no details of what deal might have been struck.

Meanwhile, Mr Barrow says members of his coalition party will be appropriately represented in his administration once he takes over the reins of government fully.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | GN