igerian President Olusegun Obasanjo arrived in Ivory Coast on Friday to meet government and rebel leaders and push for progress on a U.N. plan to reunite the divided state and hold presidential elections.

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The constitutional mandate of Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo ended on Oct. 30, but he has been given U.N. backing to remain for a further 12 months to work towards presidential polls that were unable to be held last month.

Obasanjo, who was greeted by Gbagbo on his arrival at Abidjan's airport, was set to talk individually to the president and Prime Minister Seydou Diarra as well as opposition and rebel leaders, who no longer recognise Gbagbo as president.

A U.N. resolution adopted last month called on Ivorians to choose a new prime minister with full powers over government ministers to speed progress on a series of peace deals to reunite the West African country, which have foundered amid political squabbling.

Although the rebel New Forces have nominated their leader Guillaume Soro as prime minister, no final decision has been made and officials hope Obasanjo will get all sides to agree on a candidate.

Ivory Coast has been split in two since a 2002 civil war which grew out of a failed coup and left the world's top cocoa grower split into a rebel north and government south.