About 11 serving Ambassadors of The Gambia have championed the call on President Yahya Jammeh to quit and handover power peacefully to President-elect Adama Barrow.
Mr Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, told UN Correspondents during a press briefing on Thursday.
Haq said the Permanent Representative of The Gambia to the UN, Mamadou Tangara, was among the Gambian envoys who appealed to Jammeh to peacefully transit power.
“The Secretary-General met today with the outgoing Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of The Gambia to the United Nations, Mamadou Tangara, to discuss the deteriorating political situation in the country.
“The Secretary-General commended Ambassador Tangara for his appeal to President Yahya Jammeh.
“This is along with 10 other Gambian diplomats serving overseas, to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power to the President-elect, Adama Barrow,” Haq said.
He said Ban expressed deep concern about Jammeh’s refusal to hand over power, in accordance with the Gambian constitution, despite consistent calls from regional bodies and the international community.
The spokesman said the Secretary-General reiterated the commitment of the UN to support efforts for a peaceful, timely and orderly transfer of power from Jammeh to Barrow.
According to him, the commitment of the UN is in full respect of the will of the Gambian people, working closely with all regional and international partners.
Haq said he could not explain the reasons for Tangara’s status as outgoing and could not say if he had been recalled by Jammeh.
According to him, however, the Gambian permanent representative represented himself at the meeting as “outgoing”.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")