The U.S has warned Gambian President Yahya Jammeh against forcefully remaining in office when his tenure ends on Thursday.

According to the U.S, Jammeh is losing the opportunity to peacefully hand over to President-elect, Adama Barrow and avoid consequences of his actions.

Spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State, Mr John Kirby at a press briefing on Tuesday said Jammeh is taking Gambians towards potential chaos.

“President Jammeh is losing opportunities to respect the will of the Gambian people and to peacefully hand over power to the president-elect, which is supposed to happen on Thursday. “Doing so would allow him to leave office with his head held high and to protect the Gambian people from potential chaos.

“Failure to do so will put his legacy – and, more importantly, the Gambia – in peril, and we have been clear about this,” he said.

Kirby said the U.S will like to see a President-elect properly installed as requested by Gambians.

“I don’t know what interference he’s referring to, but we obviously want to see The Gambia succeed. “And we want to see the president-elect properly installed and to have in place a government, which is responsible for and responsive to the needs of the Gambian people.”

Jammeh had vowed not to step down after losing the December 1 presidential election to Adama Barrow.

The embattled President also declared a 90-day State of Emergency on Tuesday after four of his ministers resigned.

Azeez