Yesterday, Saturday January 23 the heads of state of ECOWAS held their 58th ordinary session via videoconference and chaired by the President of Ghana.
In the communique issued after the summit, the West African leaders have decided to extend the presence of ECOMIG in The Gambia for another 12 months, that is from January to December 2021. Secondly they said they want to transform ECOMIG into a police mission!
I hereby state my total and complete opposition to this decision by ECOWAS. I hereby condemn Pres. Adama Barrow for agreeing to such a terrible decision that undermines national security and national unity.
The Gambia has a national police already and they are enough to ensure law and order. All they need is the right support from the President with effective leadership from the IGP and the Minister of Interior.
The decision to keep ECOMIG in The Gambia as either a military or police mission must have National Assembly approval first. Hence I demand the National Assembly to stand up to defend the sovereignty of The Gambia and ensure good governance by rejecting the ECOWAS decision and order The Gambia Government to remove ECOMIG altogether out of The Gambia.
The Gambia is not at war. The Gambia is not a post conflict country. Much as we highly appreciated ECOWAS’s intervention in ousting the Tyrant, this country does not need any foreign force anymore.
The continued presence of ECOMIG has caused the slow progress of security sector reforms which is no fault of ECOMIG. Rather it is the fault of the political and security leaders who are the only people benefiting from ECOMIG presence to the detriment of the country.
Now find in these two following paragraphs the exact decision by ECOWAS about ECOMIG:
30. The Authority congratulates the President of the Commission for the implementation of the Decision of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, taken at its 57th Ordinary Session held on 7 September 2020 in Niamey, Republic of Niger, to transform ECOMIG into a Police Mission.
31. The Authority decides to extend the mandate of ECOMIG for a period of twelve (12) months from 1 January 2021 and transform it into a Police Mission after December 2021 elections. It expresses its gratitude to Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and Togo for agreeing to contribute Constituted Police Units to ECOMIG, and the European Union for its financial and technical support.
ECOWAS leaders also talked about the constitution building process and its unfortunate what they reported!
No to ECOMIG! Thank you ECOMIG.
For The Gambia ?? Our Homeland
