Police in The Gambia have forcibly removed Momodou Ceesay, the country’s auditor-general, from office after he refused to accept a cabinet reshuffle by President Adama Barrow.
Ceesay, who had held the post for nearly three years, was
recently named trade minister by Barrow, but he turned down the appointment.
However, the president insisted that the auditor-general had
initially agreed to the move before changing his mind.
The BBC reports that the standoff escalated on Monday when
plainclothes officers stormed the national audit office in Banjul to arrest
Ceesay and install his successor, Cherno Amadou Sowe, director of internal
audit.
Ceesay’s staff initially resisted the move in a
confrontation that was streamed live by local media. It took reinforcements to
eject him from a press conference and escort him to his lawyer’s office.
The incident has drawn sharp criticism from citizens and
activists, who accused the president of attempting to undermine the
independence of the audit office.
Many argued that Ceesay’s removal was aimed at shielding the
government from corruption allegations.
“He refused your appointment. Now you forcibly remove him
out of the office. Are the Gambian people not watching?” said activist Kemo
Fatty.
“If the auditor general does not return to office today,
President Barrow will leave the State House today,” he added.
Fatty and fellow activist Alieu Bah were later arrested
while preparing to address a press conference at the audit office.
The removal comes amid protests fuelled by allegations that
assets belonging to former President Yahya Jammeh had been redistributed among
Barrow’s allies. The president has denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement, the presidency said Ceesay’s appointment as
trade minister was “based solely on his qualifications and experience”,
insisting it was not intended to interfere with the operations of the national
audit office.
The government added that it “remains firmly committed to
the rule of law, transparency, accountability, and the responsible management
of public finances”.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com