Gambia’s exiled former President Yahya Jammeh is once again thrusting himself into the political discourse following serious allegations of oil theft he made against neighbouring Senegal.
Jammeh claimed without providing evidence that The Gambia has one of the largest gas deposits in the world, which can be compared to those in Saudi Arabia or Venezuela.
The 60-year-old who ruled mainland Africa’s smallest country for 22 years after coming to power in a coup, recently dropped explosive voice-notes accusing the government of his successor Adama Barrow of colluding with his allies in Senegal to allegedly steal offshore oil presumably belonging to The Gambia.
Jammeh accused former Senegalese leader Macky Sall of being a ”thief who colluded with Adama Barrow to drill and steal Gambian oil which is shipped to Senegal and that continues to this day”.
He said if Sall’s successors especially Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko were true to their words as honest Muslims and upright political leaders, they should have stopped this supposed plunder of Gambian resources after they assuming office.
”Sonko should have made it clear to the Senegalese public that the oil being used in the country does not belong to Senegal” Jammeh said.
Not so long ago petrol tankers coming to Gambian waters were shown but what were they doing there? Some said they may belong to countries that were under sanctions and are now using Gambia as a cover, flying Gambian flags. But the thing is they are not smuggling oil. They are going to Senegal to collect the oil, our oil. God willing every closely kept secret will be revealed. I’m really disappointed by Ousmane Sonko who said he is a Muslim who does not covets what belongs to other people. But what they are thieving belongs to others. The oil they are taking does not belong to them” he added.
Jammeh launched a frontal attack on the coalition which orchestrated his removal from power in 2026, accusing them of using proceeds from the allegedly pilfered oil to line their own pockets to the supposed detriment of the collective patrimony.
He said if the benefits of Gambian oil were pumped into national projects, it would have alleviated the suffering in the country which in his opinion had exacerbated.
”Only God knows how many millions Barrow is earning every month while Gambian hospitals are reduced to trash. Even needles for injections are used on eight patients. This outrage ends the day I return to The Gambia and I will take further legal action. They will account for everything given his (Sonko’s) rhetoric about accountability. There will be no compromise on this.
According to him former Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade knew he (Jammeh) was in charge of the search for oil in The Gambia after an unnamed company was contracted to conduct offshore survey which also involved well designs.
He said but for the his ouster in 2016, his government would have started drilling oil in 2018 ”and i was going to give free education to all Gambians in university”.
His statement has elicited reactions from Gambian politicians including Musa Ousainou Yali Batchilly who leads the Gambia Action Party (GAP) who said the former leader’s claims were a cause for deep concern and rings a strong sense of urgency.
”This has sparked renewed public interest and skepticism about the fate of our natural resources—particularly our offshore oil wells—and whether they are at risk of being exploited by foreign powers, especially our immediate neighbor, Senegal” said a statement Batchilly released over the weekend.
GAP is urging the Barrow government to make a full disclosure given what Batchilly called a serious allegations which ”cannot be swept under the carpet as mere political utterances or dismissed as outdated rhetoric”.
The GAP leader said his party demands answers to whether Gambian oil wells if they exist are being compromised or shared unfairly with Senegal, the terms of any deals with foreign oil firms and neighours and whether there is a clear, transparent policy protecting Gambian sovereign interests.
A senior Gambian official told APA on condition of anonymity that the government will not dignify Jammeh’s ”desperate accusations which have no basis in truth” with a response.
The Senegalese government have not commented.
WN/as/APA