Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, on Tuesday, declared a 90-day state of emergency in his bid to hang on to power despite losing the December 1, 2016 election.
His term is due to end tomorrow and the international community has told him he should respect the wishes of his people and hand over power to President –elect Adama Barrow. But he has refused to recognize the result despite initially giving the indication.
In a broadcast yesterday, he decried “extraordinary” foreign interference in his country’s affairs and the December election.
President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have twice visited Banjul, the Gambian capital, to persuade Jammeh to rscpect the elction result but they were unsuccessful.
Nigeria has deployed a warship to put further pressure on Jammeh to step down. A source quoted by the BBC said the vessel – the NNS Unity – was yesterday sailing off the coast of Ghana.
This is in addition to the ECOWAS Regional force led by Senegal. But the sub regional body has maintained that military intervention would be a last resort.
In the broadcast, Jammeh said: “any acts of disobedience to the laws of The Gambia, incitement of violence and acts intended to disturb public order and peace” are banned under the state of emergency.
He said security forces were instructed to “maintain absolute peace, law and order”.
The rubber stamp National Assembly also passed a motion condemning what it called the “unlawful and malicious interference” of the African Union and the country’s neighbour, Senegal, in The Gambia’s affairs.
Six ministers including ministers of finance, foreign affairs, trade and environment yesterday resigned from President Jammeh’s government.
Tourism and Culture Minister Benjamin Roberts, also joined the group in what is a loss of confidence in Jammeh.
The mayor of the capital Banjul has also resigned, according to sources at the city council
According to Gambian state television on late Monday, Finance Minister Abdou Kolley was being replaced.
Ministry sources said other government leaders including Foreign Minister Neneh Macdouall-Gaye had left the government and the country.
Their departure followed the resignation of communications minister Sheriff Bojang last week.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s military says its newest warship, the NNS Unity, is sailing to Gambia for peacekeeping, as tension has continued to mount in the West African country.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had promised to explore all options including the use of military to ensure that President Jammeh stepped down.
The country’s army is said to be no match for regional powers.
The president has been promoting his loyalists in recent years including Army Chief Ousman Badjie, to ranks beyond their competence.
Senegal, on the other hand, is preparing ground troops ahead of Thursday’s deadline.
Adama Barrow, a property developer, won the December 1 presidential election, but President Jammeh has refused to accept election results.
He had initially declared his willingness to hand over power if he lost, but later changed his mind after Mr Barrow was declared winner.
The state of emergency banned “acts of disobedience” and “acts intended to disturb public order”.
Jammeh took power in a coup in 1994 as only the second president since Gambia’s independence in 1965 and his government gained a reputation for torturing and killing perceived opponents, rights groups say. In 2015, he declared that the country was an Islamic Republic.
Pro-democracy activists across Africa welcomed his defeat and his refusal to step down has provoked an internal crisis as well as a test of courage for regional leaders.
Gambia’s top judge on Monday declined to rule on Jammeh’s election petition and in a political blow to the president, the ministers of finance, foreign affairs, trade and the environment have resigned, according to ministry sources.
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria and some other West African nation’s leaders had made attempts to convince Mr Jammeh to hand over power to the president-elect, but not headway was made.
