Newly elected president of The Gambia Adama Barrow will be sworn in at the nation’s embassy in neighbouring Senegal.
The ceremony will be held on Thursday, January 19 after the presidential tenure of long-serving leader Yahya Jammeh ended on Wednesday, January 18.
There has been confusion over the investiture of Mr Barrow after outgoing Jammeh declared a 90-day state of emergency and getting parliamentary approval to reign till after that period.
He has also challenged election results that declared his opponent winner.
Efforts by subregional leaders to get Mr Jammeh to peacefully relinquish power have proven futile.
He has not budged to any of the mediation led by Nigeria’s General Muhammadu Buhari and Ghana’s ex-leader John Mahama to step down.
On Thursday, Mr Barrow, who has been in Senegal since Sunday, January 15, confirmed on his official Twitter page that he will have his investiture in the Francophone country.
I would like to inform you that the Inauguration Ceremony is going to take place at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal. #Gambia pic.twitter.com/ofxlIpJChl
— Adama Barrow (@adama_barrow) January 19, 2017
Streets of Banjul were deserted ahead of the inauguration day as reports of an Ecowas invasion spread across the country.
Residents fled to Senegal while tourists were also flown out by their countries.
It is unclear what Mr Jammeh will do next after Mr Barrow assumes the role as the de jure president of The Gambia.
By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|3news.com|Ghana