Raila off to Nigeria over Ivory Coast

BY AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

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1/1 ABUJA,Nigeria, Jan 16 - Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga will arrive in Abuja on Sunday to meet President Goodluck Jonathan for talks on the political crisis in Ivory Coast, a presidency source said. The source told AFP that Mr Odinga, who is African Union mediator on the Ivorian crisis, would meet Jonathan at 8:00 pm (1900 GMT), without providing details. It will be Mr Odinga's second visit to Nigeria since he was appointed AU mediator. The Kenyan leader visited Nigeria on January 2 and held talks with Jonathan before heading to Abijan where he tried unsuccessfully to persuade Laurent Gbagbo to step down as president after the November 28 elections internationally recognised as having been won by his rival Alassane Ouattara. More than 200 people have died since the political impasse in the cocoa-rich Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member nation. Jonathan is the current chairman of ECOWAS which has threatened to use force to compel Gbagbo to cede power to Ouattara.