UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has announced that former
president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, will be going to Liberia to
support peaceful transfer of power to a democratically-elected president
next Tuesday.
Guterres announced this yesterday in New York through his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric.
The secretary-General also welcomed the peaceful conduct of the second round of the presidential election in Liberia.
Liberians on Tuesday voted in a second round of elections, deciding between Vice-President Joseph Boakai and George Weah.
In more than 70 years, this would be Liberia’s first peaceful
transfer of power from one democratically-elected leader to another.
The brief statement said, “The Secretary-General hopes that the will
of the Liberian electorate will be respected and that a seamless
transfer of power will take place within constitutional timelines.
“Guterres had requested Obasanjo, who is a member of the
Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation, to travel to
the capital, Monrovia, from Thursday, Dec. 28 to Saturday, Dec. 30 Dec.
“Obasanjo is one of 18 global leaders, senior officials and experts
on the high-level board created earlier this year to advise the
Secretary-General on mediation and back those efforts around the world.
“The former president of Nigeria was involved in mediation efforts in
Angola, Burundi, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa, among others.
“The high-level board is part of the Secretary-General’s pledge for the UN to embark on a “surge in diplomacy for peace.”
The idea, according to Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland and
also a high-level board member, is to prevent wars by “hybrid
peace-building.”