By Fatou Sowe
The first minister of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) one of the newly created ministries in President Barrow’s first term in office 2017 – 2021, has vacated the post after about three years of service. Sheikh Omar Faye was appointed Minister of Defence in August 2019. He has now been replaced by Serigne Modou Njie, who was appointed on Wednesday, May 4th 2022, following a cabinet reshuffle by His Excellency President Barrow.
The outgoing minister Faye on Friday, May 6th was treated to a mini farewell ceremony at the Defence ministry by the staff, who described him as humble, charismatic, and accommodative with excellent leadership qualities and a great sense of humor.
His achievements and progress made by the ministry under his stewardship were highlighted. They include: the development of a Defence Policy for the first time in the history of the country, which sets the frameworks on which the Ministry should operate as an oversight institution to The Gambia Armed Forces; as well as the development of a strategy to complement the Policy. He is also credited for the separation of the Ministry of Defence from the Office of the President, making it a standalone ministry, as well as the implementation of various capacity building programmes for the staff of MOD and GAF personnel.
The ministry in an official statement posted on social media, said Mr Faye over the years “attracted and built strong ties with numerous development partners around the world to the benefit of the Ministry of Defence, The Gambia Armed Forces and the nation at large”.
It stated further: “The staff of the Ministry of Defence and GAF would like to register sincere appreciation and profound gratitude to Hon. Faye for the valuable time, unflinching support and above all the immense contribution towards the success of the Ministry of Defence”.
In a similar vein, the ministry welcomed new Defence Minister Serigne Modou Njie and wished him best of luck in running the affairs of the ministry.