Former President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, is currently in Abuja, Nigeria, to attend an ECOWAS mini summit aimed at resolving the current electoral impasse in The Gambia.

Long time President Yayha Jammeh lost the 2016 Presidential elections but has refused to step down, claiming the polls were rigged. This has triggered an all out attempt by the sub regional body ECOWAS to resolve the dispute between Jammeh and President-elect Adama Barrow.

Mahama has been key in the mediation process even as his Presidency was winding down, and after leaving office is expected to use  his experience, having lost an election yet accepted the results – to help convince Jammeh.

A statement from the office of the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, who beat Mahama in the last elections – indicated that he had designated his former rival to represent the country in his stead at the mini summit.

“The President is of the view that the continuing involvement of former President John Mahama in the mediation process in the Gambia would assist the process,” it read.

“Other leaders attending the mini-summit are the Chairperson of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Governments, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson of Liberia, and the Presidents of Senegal and Sierra Leone respectively,” the statement continued.

The summit would be hosted by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.