THE ECOWAS commission has reassured the Gambian government and people of its unwavering commitment to sustainable peace, stability and democracy in that country in the spirit of solidarity with all member States and regional integration.

After leading international interventions for the peaceful transfer of power following the tension generated by the December 2016 presidential election won by the opposition party, ECOWAS has a military force, ECOMIG, supporting peace and stability in the Gambia.

“ECOWAS is not only in the Gambia because Gambia is an important member of ECOWAS, but also because Gambia has played its part in peace-keeping in our region (Liberia and Sierra Leone),” Halima Ahmed, ECOWAS commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, in Banjul said on April 8, 2017, during the commissioning of an Officers’ Mess/Soldiers’ Canteen and Kitchen for the Nigerian Contingent of the ECOMIG at the Yundun Barracks.

She recalled that the Gambia hosted the regional meeting that produced ECOWAS’ first peace accord on the Liberian crisis chaired by former Gambian President Dawda Jawara in the early 1990s.

Ahmed, who accompanied Marcel de Souza, the ECOWAS commission president, on the diplomatic shuttles for the resolution of the Gambia’s December election dispute, led the commission’s technical team that supported the 20-member ECOWAS Election Observation Mission deployed by the president to observe Gambia’s April 6, 2017 parliamentary polls.

The commissioner was accompanied by Vabah Gayflor, head of the ECOMIG Mission and ECOWAS ambassador to the Gambia, at the commissioning ceremony, with whom she also participated at the ceremony organised by Senegal’s ECOMIG continent at Bakua, to mark the country’s Independence Anniversary on April 4.

She explained that the ECOWAS’ involvement in peace efforts in the new Gambia was its duty in line with the relevant protocols and instruments. She also lauded ECOWAS leaders for their wisdom and proactive intervention and praised the ECOMIG troops contributing countries — Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana — for rising up to the occasion.

Noting that there could be no economic development without peace and security, Commissioner Ahmed thanked the three Nigeria-based Banks with offices in the Gambia – Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank and Skye Bank – for supporting the Canteen and kitchen Project.

Francois Ndiaye, an army general from Senegal, who is the ECOMIG Force commander, while acknowledging that military deployments to foreign countries always came with challenges, commended the Nigerian contingent and the Banks on the project, which he said would boost the morale of soldiers.

He also praised Mohammed Adamu, a lieutenant colonel and the Nigerian contingent commander, for making the welfare of troops under his command, a priority. “That is one of the hallmarks of a good commander,” he said.

Yankuba Drammeh, a major general and The Gambia’s chief of Defence Staff, who was represented at the occasion, thanked the ECOWAS for deploying ECOMIG, and the Nigerian banks for their efforts in enhancing the welfare of the troops.

Adamu said the conditions of the ECOMIG troops had improved from what it was when they first arrived in the country, and pledged the continent’s total commitment to the fulfilment of the mandate assigned to it by the ECOWAS leaders in support of peace and security in the Gambia.

He later presented commemorative plaques to Ahmed and Gayflor to mark their visit to the Yundun Barracks. The managing directors of the three banks also received acknowledgement letters.

— Apr 11, 2017 @ 15:20 GMT