Saturday, June 22, 2024 – Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s bid for the African Union Chairmanship may be in serious jeopardy if Djibouti gets its way.
This is after it emerged that Djibouti is forcing Somalia’s Fawzia Yusuf Adam to step down in favour of Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, who is a fellow Muslim.
Fawzia confirmed during a press briefing yesterday that she was being forced out of the race to avoid splitting the Muslim vote, which would benefit Djibouti’s candidate.
She revealed that she had reportedly received pressure from Djiboutian leaders, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre.
"The President and the Prime Minister from Djibouti asked me to give up," she stated.
She revealed that she was called to a National Consultative Council (NCC) meeting between the two and other leaders during which she alleges that she was asked to stop running for the position.
Adam added that she was not given a reason to stop vying.
However, she emphasised that the threats and intimidation would not sway her quest.
"I am grateful to all the Somali people for supporting me. Victory in Somalia," she added.
Her revelation was met with mixed reactions with some locals urging her to remain resilient and continue with her bid to take up the position.
However, others asked her to give in to the pressure and give up adding that the Djibouti candidate was more qualified to lead as AU Chairperson.
The new chairperson will be selected in February 2025 at the 38th AU summit.
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