President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday joined tens of thousands of people to witness the inaugural ceremony of re-elected President of The Gambia, Adama Barrow, at the Independence Stadium at Banjul, the capital of The Gambia. 

The President, who is Chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Authority of Heads of State arrived in the capital of Gambia, Banjul, on Tuesday evening with a delegation of officials from the Presidency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

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  President of The Gambia, Adama Barrow, at the Independence Stadium at Banjul for the swearing in ceremony

• President of The Gambia, Adama Barrow

A strong advocate for democracy and rule of law in the sub-region, President Akufo-Addo played a key role in restoring democratic rule in The Gambia, popularly known as the Smiling Coast of Africa after the controversial election in 2016.

Few days into his first term in office in 2017, President Akufo-Addo sent over 200 combat troops to Gambia to join ECOWAS forces to overthrow former President, Yaya Jameh, who had refused to leave office after his defeat in the Gambian 2016 election. 

Under the code name ‘Operation Restore Democracy’, the ECOWAS intervention subsequently led to the inauguration of President Barrow. 

In December last year, President Barrow secured the mandate of the Gambian people to serve the country for another five years. 

Present at the colourful inaugural ceremony were the Presidents of Togo, Faure Gnassingbe, Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, and Mauritania, Mohamed OuldCheikh El Ghazouani 

The Presidents of Senegal, MackySall, Nigeria, MuhammaduBuhari, and Liberia, George Weah, were also among the international dignitaries who witnessed the ceremony.

President Barrow, 56, is set to draft a new constitution to introduce a presidential term limit in The Gambia, according to local reports.

Since the country’s independence in the 1970, there has not been a limit to the term of any President. 

President DawdaJawara, the first President of Gambia, ruled from 1970 till his overthrow by President YahaJameh in 1994, who also ruled till he was ousted in 2017. 

President Barrow hopes to chart a new path for the country’s infant democracy by introducing a presidential term limit in a new draft constitution.

The Gambian leader is also expected to manage the country’s economy, which basically thrives on tourism, through the difficult period of COVID-19 to bring prosperity to the Gambian people. 

President Akufo-Addo left Banjul for Accra immediately after the inaugural ceremony of the Gambian President.