By Modou Jatta
Dr Ismaila Ceesay, Minister of Information, has openly rebuked Essa Mbye Faal, leader of the APP-Sobeya party and a prominent lawyer, for comparing President Adama Barrow’s government to that of former president Yahya Jammeh.
Faal, in his critique, accused the Barrow administration of corruption, claiming the government is continuing patterns reminiscent of the Jammeh era and urging Gambians to reject Barrow in the 2026 elections.
But appearing on Coffee Time on Tuesday, Minister Ceesay characterised Faal’s remarks as misinformed and called on him to apologise for what he sees as a dangerous and unfounded analogy.
· “It is the worst statement I have ever heard in my entire life. Let’s forget about politics, I have nothing against Essa Faal. He is a fine gentleman. But to be honest, he should retract that statement and apologise to the Gambian people. That’s an insult to the Gambian. As Lead Counsel to the TRRC, he has first hand information about the atrocities committed by Yahya Jammeh. In fact, the way and manner in which he was questioning the people who were adversely mentioned shows how adherent those atrocities were. You cannot justify those comments he must come out and apologies.”
· Dr Ceesay added that Faal’s statements are “misinformation” and “delusional.” He argued that equating Barrow’s government—a democratically elected administration—with the autocratic regime of Jammeh is both misleading and a grave insult to the country’s recent democratic progress.
· Ceesay urged Faal to retract his comparison and apologise to the Gambian people. He warned that such rhetoric undermines public understanding of governance and sows unnecessary discord.
· GALA protest
Commenting on the number of people who tuned up at the GALA anti-corruption protest, Minister Ceesay maintained that the numbers were not up to a thousand as reported.
“I cannot give exact figures but based on our analysis and considering the area view of the protest we came to the conclusion that they were not up to a thousand,” he said.
Responding to issues raised by Gambians living abroad about the country’s Embassies failure to address their complaints, Minister Ceesay promised to engage the ministry of foreign affairs to ensure that the issues raised are addressed.
“It is unacceptable for embassies to be inaccessible to the people they serve. Embassy staff must always be available to support Gambians. This, I will pick up with the new Minister of Foreign Affairs,” he said.
Minister Ceesay disclosed that the new Minister of Foreign Affairs has already organised a conclave with all the country’s Embassies to ensure that their staff are engage on their responsibilities.
He however admitted that some of the challenges faced by Gambians are beyond the purview of the embassies.
“The problems they are facing are products of migration.”
He said the Gambian Embassy in Mauritania is doing well in terms of supporting Gambians.
“These are facts we have from the ground because Gambians in Mauritania are calling to congratulate the embassy for the support they are giving them. This is why they urged the government to go to Mauritania and give them ID Cards,” he added.
Minister Ceesay argued that the country doesn’t have the resources to open an embassies in every city.
