GAMBIA: Nigeria to bear 50% of ECOWAS military intervention

Though Senegal is to lead a planned military intervention in Gambia if its president, Yahya Jammeh, fails to step down when his mandate expires on January 19, 2017, Nigeria is billed to bear about 50 per cent of the cost of the operation, according to ECOWAS.

A take off cost of the exercise is being put at about $300 million, with the other 12 countries of the sub-region which will contribute an estimated $160 million.

The decision to follow military option in forcing Jammeh to keep to his earlier acceptance of the December 1, election, which saw Adama Barrow winning him in the polls, was reached after the last of a peace resolution committee, led by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari reported that no progress was made after several meetings with the Gambian president.

An ECOWAS delegation, which had on Thursday in Abuja, the Nigerian seat of power briefed President Buhari was said to have pleaded that Nigeria should bear 60 percent of the cost of the intervention, aimed at ensuring that Barrow is sworn in as the next Gambian president on January 19.

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A Presidency source, who confirmed the visit, said the appeal centred mainly on how to fund the sub-regional force.

He declined to confirm the total cost of the option, but said that as the leader of the countries in West Africa economic group, “Nigeria is usually expected to bear the brunt of the bloc’s programmes or exercise as it has always been known to have done in the past but for the recession, which has reduced its commitment to many obligations. “

However, Chairman of ECOWAS Commission told a foreign news agency in London that the strike force was already in place with its personnel to be drawn from Senegal, Nigeria, Liberia, and Ghana, while other member-countries are to contribute in some other logistic supports.

He was quoted as saying that Nigeria would be expected to contribute substantively to the force, adding that details of the plan were still sketchy.

He said , given the experience of the past various peace keeping operations in parts of Africa, ECOWAS may be budgeting about $300 million as a takeoff cost of the operation, which experts say will likely eat deep into the economies of most member-countries currently facing some meltdown.

But experts say ECOWAS may not succeed in its plan if it relies on Nigeria, which is passing through funds crunch to run its 2016 budget.

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