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Nigeria: West Africa will act on Gambia election crisis

Associated Press
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FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016 file photo, Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh shows his inked finger before voting in Banjul, Gambia. Family members told The Associated Press on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017, that Independent Electoral Commission chairman Alieu Momarr Njai has gone to Senegal, as the political standoff deepens between Jammeh and President-elect Adama Barrow. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016 file photo, Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh shows his inked finger before voting in Banjul, Gambia. Family members told The Associated Press on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017, that Independent Electoral Commission chairman Alieu Momarr Njai has gone to Senegal, as the political standoff deepens between Jammeh and President-elect Adama Barrow. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec.13, 2016 file photo, Liberia President and chair of the West African regional bloc, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, waves following a meeting with Ecowas delegation in Banjul, Gambia. The chair of the West African regional bloc has said the body stands with the people of Gambia in their fight to ensure that democracy prevails, and will apply diplomatic solutions to solve the crisis. (AP Photo/ Sylvain Cherkaoui, File) (The Associated Press)

West African leaders will make a decision Saturday on Gambia's electoral crisis and its longtime leader's refusal to accept defeat in elections. A military intervention led by Senegal could be in the offing.

Nigeria's presidential spokesman Garba Shehu says Friday that "one way or the other, a decision will be taken." Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari heads a committee named by the Economic Committee of West African States to resolve the crisis.

The regional bloc has threatened to send troops if President Yahya Jammeh does not step down Jan. 19. Shehu says a decision will be made Saturday at the inauguration of Ghana's new president.

Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh conceded defeat in the Dec. 1 vote, then later demanded a new election. He is being criticized by the international community.