A high-level delegation from the Federal Government of Somalia arrived in Baidoa on Tuesday to oversee a political transition in Southwest State, one day after regional president Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen formally stepped down.
The delegation, which includes the ministers of interior and religious affairs as well as the speaker of the lower house, Sheikh Aden Madobe, landed at the Shaati Gaduud airport. For some of the officials, the visit marks their first time in the city in years, following a protracted political rift with Laftagareen, who had governed the regional state for seven years.
Before departing from Mogadishu, federal stakeholders held discussions on the structure of the interim administration. Sources indicated there were disagreements over whether Laftagareen’s finance minister should remain in a caretaker role or whether authority should be transferred to the former deputy speaker of the regional parliament.
The federal government ultimately designated Somalia’s second deputy prime minister, Jibriil Adirashiid Haji Abdi, to head the transitional process and oversee the administration in Southwest State.
The arrival of the delegation signals the beginning of a federal-led transition aimed at stabilizing the region’s political leadership following Laftagareen’s resignation.