UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to Kenya to avert a political crisis, chief UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Friday.

"The political situation in Kenya is one we have been following closely, especially the ongoing preparation by the opposition, the National Super Alliance (NASA), for the swearing-in planned in January," said the spokesman.

Dujarric explained that Obasanjo is a member of the secretary-general's high-level Mediation Panel. "It's in that context the secretary-general asked former president Obasanjo ... to visit Kenya."

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was inaugurated in November 2017, after a September election was ordered to re-run and which he won in October. The opposition candidate, Raila Odinga then said he would have his own swearing-in, backed by NASA.

That planned "inauguration" to take place at the end of this month, prompted the secretary-general to ask Obasanjo to intervene, since the former president was known to be friendly to Kenyatta and Odinga, according to published reports.

"It's important that Kenyans continue to uphold the 2010 Constitution and that the opposition carry their political activities within the confines of the law," the UN spokesman said. "We would like to stress the importance of Kenyans to work together, strengthen governance, advance inclusive development and uphold human rights and the rule of law."