Cote d’ Ivoire: Obama Meets with ECOWAS Delegation

Williams Ekanem and Agency Reports

President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet with a delegation from the Economic Council of West African States (ECOWAS) over the lingering presidential election crisis in Cote d'Ivoire tomorrow.

In the same vein, from New York, United Nations sources say  that a team from ECOWAS would be in New York on Thursday to meet with UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, on the same issue.

Reports monitored in Washington say, the ECOWAS team to the meeting slated for the White House would be led by the President of Sierra-Leone, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma. Among those that would be on the delegation are President of ECOWAS Commission, Amb. James Victor Gbeho, Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, Nigerian Ambassador to US, Prof. Adebowale Adefuye, and the commission's Director of Political Affairs, Dr. Abdel Fatau Musah.

Cote d'Ivoire had been in the throes of crises since the November 28 Presidential rerun which the country's eletoral body declared was won by opposition leader  Alassane Ouattara. Another body, the Constitutional Council, after the ruling FPY contested the result of the election, declared incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo winner, an action that had been condemned and is being resisted by the international community.

Both personalities are presently laying claim to the West African country's presidency, a development that is gradually pushing the country to the brink. While some targeted sanctions had been imposed on Gbagbo, his family and close associates by US and European Union, ECOWAS leaders at a meeting in Abuja last month resolved to use "legitimate force" to oust the sit-tight Ivorian leader.

Though, ECOWAS is still engaged in diplomatic talks with Gbagbo, the upcoming meetings in US are seen as part of efforts by the regional body to garner global support for an impending military action against the Ivorian leader should the ongoing talks fail.

White House and State Department sources yesterday said that the ECOWAS team would first meet with the US Secretary of State, Senator Hillary Clinton, at the State Department on Wednesday morning, before proceeding to the White House in the evening to meet with Obama.

Last month, President Obama had in a phone conversation with President Goodluck Jonathan, who is the chairman of ECOWAS, commended Nigeria 's resolute leadership in standing behind the Ivorien people and for insisting that the result of the November 28, 2010 presidential rerun must be respected.