Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said on Tuesday no deal was yet on the table for Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh to leave power, saying an agreement would take longer than a day of talks.
“We come to help Gambians find their way through a transition. That’s not something that can happen in one day. It’s something that one has to work on,” said Sirleaf, who was acting as the head of a delegation of four West African heads of state visiting the country.
The Liberian leader said Jammeh had “expressed some concerns” on the same day his party filed a petition with the country’s Supreme Court in trying to void a recent election that declared opposition leader Adama Barrow the winner.
“The Ecowas mission was here to meet with him to understand the things as they are a bit better,” Sirleaf added, referring to a west African regional bloc.
“We met with all the entities concerned and now we go back to our colleagues at a meeting of Ecowas authority on Saturday in Abuja,” she said.
Sirleaf said all the entities concerned have assured her of their commitment to peace and stability in The Gambia, but the news will come as a blow to the opposition who had hoped Jammeh would leave power within a month under international pressure.
