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Tag: Gambia

  • AFCON: Gambia, Cameroon’s coaches trade words ahead of quarter-final clash

    AFCON: Gambia, Cameroon’s coaches trade words ahead of quarter-final clash

    Antonio Conceiçao, Coach of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, says the objective of his team is to secure a win against Gambia in their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) clash on Saturday.

    Conceiçao, speaking at a pre-match press conference on Friday in Douala ahead of their quarter-final match against The Gambia, said this was in spite of a lot of respect his side had for their opponents.

    The hosts and five-time champions, Cameroon, will be looking to end debutants, The Gambia’s fairy tale run, when they clash at the Japoma Stadium in Douala on Saturday.

    “We have managed a positive course, a satisfactory record so far. Against Gambia, the objective is to win. We are a playful team that likes to take the game on its own.

    “Against us, there will be a team that defends well and have five to six high quality attacking players. So, Everything is possible even if we only consider victory,” he said.

    Cameroon defender Jean Castelleto noted that even though they were up against a good team, he and his teammates were confident of victory against The Gambia.

    “I am very happy to take part in this competition, everything is going very well, we have had a good run so far and against Gambia, the objective remains victory.

    “We will play against a good team. In Douala, we have good memories. The reception is fantastic and we expect to have a popular fervor behind the team,” he said.

    Three wins and a draw for hosts Cameroon guided them to the quarterfinals, where they faced another debutant after going through fellow newcomers Comoros in the Round of 16.

    Captain Vincent Abubakar led by example to the moment, scoring six goals in four games, to become the first player since 1998 to reach this milestone in AFCON finals.

    Now he is looking for even more while aiming with The Indomitable Lions for one more step towards the ultimate.

    A sixth AFCON title is the dream of everyone in Cameroon, and coach Conceicao knows well an uneasy game against Gambia is another hurdle to pass to achieve that dream.

    Meanwhile, Tom Saintfiet, Coach of Gambia, says his team is used to being referred to as ‘underdogs’ ahead of every game they have played in the AFCON in Cameroon.

    Saintfiet speaking at a pre-match press conference on Friday in Douala ahead of their quarter-final match against Cameroon, said the hosts are the big favourites, adding, however, that his team would not be intimidated.

    The debutants Gambia face hosts Cameroon in an unprecedented quarterfinal that promises a lot of excitement on Saturday at the Japoma Stadium in Douala from 4 p. m.

    “Cameroon, one of the greatest nations in African and even world football, is the big favorite. I give my team a 20 per cent chance, the Gambian coach said.

    “But we are used to it and since I took office, it has always been the case. We had to fight against stronger teams than us and we managed to get by.

    “Against Cameroon, we will not be afraid, we will play to the fullest. It’s a bonus match. We visited Limbé, Bafoussam and now Douala, and we want to continue to Yaoundé,” he said.

    Gambian Midfielder and hitman Ablie Jallow expressed confidence in the ability of the Scorpions to win the match, adding that they would approach the game with a firm belief of going through to the semis.

    “It will be a tough match, but we are well prepared to go for the win. As in previous games, we will put all the assets on our side to pass.

    “Cameroon will be accompanied by its fans; they are the ones under pressure. We will play our game with the firm intention of going through,” he said.

    The hosts and five-time champions, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, may seem like favourites, but they have to face an emerging force in continental football, The Gambia.

    The Gambia made it all the way through the qualifiers, starting from the preliminary round, passing a group that had DR Congo, Angola and Gabon.

    Then to the finals, where they have drawn with Mali and beaten Mauritania, Tunisia and Guinea to reach the final eight.

    Despite feeling the AFCON for the very first time, the Scorpions have shown that Cameroonians cannot even imagine taking them lightly.

    Led by Belgian Saintfiet, Gambia will look once more to the lethal striking force of Jallow and Moussa Barrow who netted twice each in earlier matches.

  • Buhari attends Barrow’s inauguration to promote democratic values in W/Africa – Presidency

    Buhari attends Barrow’s inauguration to promote democratic values in W/Africa – Presidency

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday attended the inauguration of Adama Barrow, the Gambian President, for a second term, in Banjul.

    Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s media aide in a statement, said the president witnessed the event as a mark of Nigeria’s strong commitment towards the entrenchment of democracy and good governance in the Gambia and West African sub-region.

    Nigeria supported the entrenchment of democracy and good governance in Gambia following the refusal of Yahya Jammeh, the former leader, to surrender power after losing an election and has remained resolute in ensuring that democracy is sustained in that country.

    Jammeh only agreed to leave after the Nigerian military had made a landing in Banjul, the capital.

    Shehu maintained that the presence of Buhari in Banjul for the event equally underlined the affinity between Nigeria and The Gambia.

    ”It indicates the value that Nigeria places on the need to strengthen democratic governance, the rule of law and promotion of fundamental human rights in our sub-region.

    ”It is a testament to the fact that as West Africans, our destinies are tied together, and that Nigeria will continue to offer necessary support within ECOWAS to ensure that member states adhere to these cherished democratic ideals.

    ”At repeated occasions, Nigeria continues to assure The Gambia of assistance through the establishment of strong bilateral economic institutions that will allow the private sectors of the two countries to collaborate in the areas of investment, manufacturing, shipping and air transportation.

    ”There are clear indications that The Gambia’s business environment has gained a lot of attractiveness from Nigerian enterprises.

    ”In addition to this, Volunteers from Nigeria’s Technical Aid Corps (TAC) scheme will soon be made available to assist The Gambia to play active parts in vital sectors, such as education, health services, rural development, justice, security, public health, infrastructure development, environment and entrepreneurship.”

    The presidential aide noted that almost five years ago, on Jan. 26, 2017, The Gambia faced a difficult political crisis.

    He stated that the ECOWAS, with the strong backing of the AU and the UN, intervened to restore democracy to this beautiful country.

    He further revealed that the Presidential inauguration in Banjul was done in the presence of African leaders and a jubilant crowd of Gambians at the Independence Stadium, Bakau.

    ”The Nigerian delegation joined others in commending The Gambian President as well as the Government and people of the Republic for a peaceful election after a successful first tenure in office.”

  • BREAKING: Former President to stand trial over killing of Nigerians

    BREAKING: Former President to stand trial over killing of Nigerians

    A former Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh has been accused of human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary detention.

    The Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) made this known at the weekend in its findings.

    Among the ex-President’s high handedness victims, TRRC revealed, were West African migrants, including nine Nigerians.

    The TRRC in its report said the ex-president was also responsible for the persecution and unlawful arrest of Gambian journalists, the killing of 17 civilians, and for the deaths, sexual violence, torture of persons accused of being witches or wizards.

    The commission’s revealed Jammeh alongside “Tumbul Tamba, Kawsu Camara (Bombardier), Bai Lowe, Musa Badjie, Landing Tamba, Sanna Manjang, Solo Bojang, Malick Jatta, Alieu Jeng, Omar Jallow (Oya), Lamin Sillah and Buba Jallow were responsible for the murder of the West African migrants”.

    Migrants from Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, including their Gambian contact, were held by Jammeh’s top lieutenants in the security services before being murdered by the “Junglers,” a notorious paramilitary unit that took orders from the ex-president.

    TRRC was set up in January 2017 by President Adama Barrow, whose election in 2016 put an end to over two decades of the former despotic leader.

    Jammeh is presently in exile in Equatorial Guinea since his departure from the Gambia in January 2017.

  • CBN agrees to mint currency for Gambia

    CBN agrees to mint currency for Gambia

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has agreed in principle to mint The Gambian Dalasi.

    The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, agreed to the currency minting proposal from the Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Buah Saidy, who led a delegation to visit him on Tuesday.

    Emefiele said Nigeria has a lot of capacity in currency printing as she has been minting since the 1960s and “we are willing to assist in printing your currency. We can be extremely competitive in terms of cost.”

    The Gambian Central Bank governor said his country is running very low on currency and wants to learn how to manage their currency need annually leveraging Nigeria’s wealth of knowledge and experience.

    He said currently, they placed an order for two years currency minting deal abroad but they are considering also minting from Nigeria if Nigeria is willing.

    On its part, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc said it is ready if both parties come to a deal.

  • U20 AFCON: Gambia beat Tunisia on penalties to clinch bronze

    U20 AFCON: Gambia beat Tunisia on penalties to clinch bronze

    Goalkeeper Lamin Saidy saved two penalties as Gambia beat Tunisia 4-2 on post-match penalties at the Stade Cheikha Ould Boidiya in Nouakchott on Friday to clinch bronze at the Total Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Mauritania.

    The game was forced to penalties after a barren stalemate in normal time and Saidy proved to be the hero for the Gambians who equalled their best ever performance at the tournament in 2007, when they also won bronze.

    Saidy saved from Adam Karim Benlamine and substitute Hamdi Abidi to help his side clinch the trophy. Gambia’s only miss in the shootout was from Habessi Achref who saw his penalty saved by substitute keeper Ahmed Laabidi.

    Gambia’s penalties were converted by Momodou Bojang, Alieu Barry, Momodou Jallow and Adama Kanteh. Tunisia’s penalties were scored by Hassan Ayari and Mohamed Amine Ben Zeghda.

  • Gambian Police declare Davido wanted

    Pop star, Davido has been declared wanted in Gambia for allegedly assaulting a certain Kenny Egbuke, a celebrity photographer who came to cover his recent music concert in Gambia.

    Davido who currently risks prison sentence for recently threatening the life of celebrity blogger, Ayodeji Jaguda because the blogger accused him of buying YouTube views for his latest song, ‘Wonder Woman’, purportedly has a case of assault reported against him at the Kololi Police station in Gambia.

    Enquirermag reports that the singer violently broke the head, tore the lips of Egbuke who is said to be one of Gamiba’s most notable celebrity photographers.

    A young female fan had approached Davido for a selfie while he was eating. The lady was said to have taken a few pictures of him before going close to him and this, it was gathered, did not go down well with Davido, who sent her back by shouting at her. This, according to a source, attracted Egbuke’s interest as he advised Davido to take it cool with the lady because star-struck ladies could be annoying, especially when they see a star like him

    According to reports, the photographer’s interference made Davido livid with anger as he threw his very thick, heavy cognac glass directly at him, shattering his lips and skull Thereafter, the star singer made attempts to break the bottle of Hennessey he was drinking on the photographer’s head. He was said to have left with all his entourage, moments after.

  • U.S. bars ex-Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, family

    The United States has barred former President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia and his immediate family from the country.

    U.S. Department of State, in a statement on ‘Public Designation of The Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh,’ said the ex-president was sanctioned over “his involvement in significant corruption.”

    “The Department is publicly designating former president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, under the terms of Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2018, due to his involvement in significant corruption.

    “Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign government officials have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States.

    “The law requires the Secretary of State to publicly or privately designate such officials and their immediate family members.

    “In addition to the designation of Yahya Jammeh, the Department is also publicly designating Jammeh’s spouse, Zineb Yahya Jammeh, his daughter, Mariam Jammeh, and his son, Muhammad Yahya Jammeh,” the statement read.

    The United States is committed to combating corruption, increasing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and promoting good governance globally, according to the statement.

    “The United States stands with the government of The Gambia, its people, and civil society in support of The Gambia’s transition towards greater transparency, accountability, and democratic governance, for the benefit of all Gambians,” the statement read.

    Jammeh was defeated by current President Adama Barrow, who won the December 2016 presidential election with 43.34 per cent of the vote.

    Jammeh’s tenure ended on Jan. 19, 2017, the same day that Barrow was expected to be sworn in as his successor, but he initially accepted the result, and later reneged.

    Barrow was forced to flee to neighbouring Senegal, where he was inaugurated at the Gambian embassy on Jan. 19 2017.

    The U.S. had warned the embattled Jammeh that he was losing opportunities to peacefully handover to then president-elect Barrow and avoid the consequences of his actions.

    “President Jammeh is losing opportunities to respect the will of the Gambian people and to peacefully hand over power to the president-elect, which is supposed to happen on Thursday.

    “Doing so would allow him to leave office with his head held high and to protect the Gambian people from potential chaos.

    “Failure to do so will put his legacy – and, more importantly, the Gambia – in peril, and we have been clear about this,” the U.S. had said.

    The United Nations, the African Union and ECOWAS had said that Jammeh would cease to be recognised as Gambian President from the date he was expected to handover, which the U.S. also supported.

    Jammeh was eventually forced to leave The Gambia and go into exile on January 21, while Barrow returned to the Gambia on January 26.

  • Buhari hosts Gambian President Adama Barrow

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday hosted Gambian President, Adama Barrow at the State House in Abuja.

    “The best route to national development is stability. When a country is not stable, you spend most of your financial resources on security. That is the money that should have gone into education, infrastructure, and generating employment for the people, particularly youths,” President Buhari said.

    He congratulated President Barrow for stabilising The Gambia after his emergence, following the impasse caused by his immediate predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, who initially refused to vacate office, after losing the presidential election in December, 2016.

    The Gambian President thanked President Buhari for the role Nigeria played in helping his country return to the path of constitutional democracy.

    He also congratulated the Nigerian President on his emergence as the new Chairman of ECOWAS, noting that he was the first foreign leader to visit Abuja after the development.

  • The Gambia rejoins Commonwealth Thursday

    The Gambia will on Thursday at 11 a.m., rejoin the Commonwealth family, almost five years after leaving the 53-member organisation.

    The Gambia’s readmission would be confirmed by 12. 01 a.m. on Thursday after which the Secretariat would announce that The Gambia is rejoining the Commonwealth.

    A flag-raising ceremony, at the gardens of Marlborough House, the London headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat, would mark its return, said Prof. Barnie Choudhury, Director, Media and Public Relations, Commonwealth Secretariat.

    Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland; Chair, Executive Committee of the Board of Governors, Norman Hamilton; members of the Committee; and The Gambian High Commissioner-to be, Francis Blain, would attend the ceremony.

    The decision to begin the process of applying for readmission was made in February 2017 by President Adama Barrow, who came to power following elections in December 2016.

    In December 2017, the parliament of The Gambia unanimously affirmed the country’s desire to rejoin the Commonwealth, thereby fulfilling one of the final steps in the organisation’s membership process.

    Its application was unanimously supported by the current 52-member states and The Gambia would now be invited to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in April in London.

    The secretary-general said when The Gambia left in 2013, the heads of government expressed their regret in its leaving the Commonwealth family.

    Scotland said: “We’ve looked forward to The Gambia’s return and were delighted when, after his election victory last year, President Barrow pledged to return.

    “The Gambia’s application to rejoin has been unanimously accepted by all 52-member states, who welcome back their brothers and sisters to again play their full part in the Commonwealth family.”

    Blain, the High Commissioner-to be, also expressed joy that his country was rejoining the Commonwealth.

    “I am thrilled to represent my country as it formally rejoins the Commonwealth after an absence of several years – and to become High Commissioner rather than Ambassador.

    “The Gambia looks forward to being able both to contribute to and benefit from the collective wisdom of the Commonwealth family of countries.

    “And to playing an active role in supporting the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the many other organisations and initiatives that flourish as expressions of Commonwealth connection.

    “The Government and people of The Gambia will also draw on all that the Commonwealth collectively has to offer, assisting in practical ways to address a wide range of pressing issues.

    “These include protecting the environment and tackling climate change, and the empowerment of women and young people,” Blain said.

    The Gambia first became a member of the Commonwealth in 1965, when it gained independence from Britain.

    There are now 53 members of The Commonwealth, representing more than 2.4 billion people.

    The ceremony takes place just two months before the CHOGM.

    CHOGM is taking place in London for the first time since 1986, and for the first time in the United Kingdom since the 1997 Edinburgh summit

    Mr Eazi chooses Gambian Jollof over Nigerian Jollof

     

  • Buhari, Gambian President meet in Abuja

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja met behind closed doors with visiting Gambia’s President Adama Barrow at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Barrow, who is visiting Nigeria for the first time since his inauguration as Gambian President on Jan. 19, 2017 arrived the presidential villa at about 11.50a.m.

    The President would be host Barrow to a lunch after bilateral discussions.

    The 51-year-old Gambian president ended the rule of the longtime leader of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, who is currently in exile in Equatorial Guinea.

    Buhari played a major role in ensuring smooth democratic transition in The Gambia even when Jammeh refused to step aside.

    The Economic Community of West Africa appointed Buhari the Mediator in Chief on the Gambian political impasse.

     

    (NAN)