Abuja, Aug 12: Liberia's former President
Charles Taylor has arrived in the Nigerian capital Abuja to
begin his life in exile, following his resignation from office
earlier.
Taylor, who on July 6 accepted an offer of asylum
from Nigeria, arrived on board a Nigerian presidential plane
yesterday hours after handing over power to his deputy, Moses
Blah, at a ceremony in Monrovia.
Accompanied by Mozambican President Joachim Chissano
and his Ghanaian counterpart, John Kufuor, Taylor was met by
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and other senior
government officials.
Chissano is current chairman of the African Union,
while Kufuor serves as chairman of the 15-nation West African
regional bloc Ecowas.
South African President Thabo Mbeki, who had earlier
attended Taylor's handover ceremony in Monrovia, was also
expected to arrive in Abuja shortly, presidential spokeswoman
Oluremi Oyo told a news agency.
Also on the same flight with Taylor were Nigeria's
former military leader Abdulsalami Abubakar -- the chief
negotiator in the Liberian crisis -- and Mohammed Ibn
Chambas, Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS).
Bureau Report
