Dear Members of the Press,
I warmly welcome you all to this press conference at the residence of our Party Leader here in Bijilo.
On behalf of the Secretary General and Party Leader, Hon Ousman Madikay Faal, and the entire leadership of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), I extend our sincere appreciation to all members of the press for honoring our invitation and being part of this important engagement.
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) recently held a historic and forward-looking consultation meeting with the leadership of the Golden Era Movement, led by Mr Saikou Sawo and Mrs. Nenneh Cheyacine Kebe.
This engagement followed a series of constructive consultations between the PPP Secretary General and the Party Leader, Hon. Ousman Madikay Faal. In keeping with the party’s long-standing tradition of inclusion, dialogue, and democratic practice, the Party Leader delegated a competent and representative team of party officials to engage the Golden Era leadership in open, respectful, and purposeful discussions aimed at strengthening national unity and building a credible, people-centered political alternative for The Gambia.
This engagement resulted in the leadership of the Golden Era Movement formally joining the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), together with their followers, who are now recognized as bona fide members of the PPP.
Our coming together is not a merger, coalition, or alliance. Rather, it is a principled decision to unite under the banner, values, constitution, and policy framework of the People’s Progressive Party. Moving forward, Mr Saikou Sawo, Mrs Nenneh Cheyacine Kebe, and their entire support base will actively promote, defend, and market the PPP’s values, ideology, and policy positions to the Gambian people.
The PPP platform is an issue-driven platform. We firmly believe that the Gambian people deserve serious, solutions-oriented politics that focuses on national challenges, development priorities, and the everyday realities of citizens—rather than personal attacks, insults, and divisive rhetoric that have increasingly characterised our political discourse in recent times.
The PPP leadership firmly believes that Mr. Saikou Sawo and Mrs. Nenneh Cheyacine Kebe are patriotic citizens who genuinely have The Gambia at heart. The party is deeply proud of their ambition to serve the nation, their decision to return home, and their willingness to invest significantly—both in resources and ideas—to contribute meaningfully to national development and the well-being of the Gambian people.
Most importantly, since they began engaging Gambians on political and national issues, Mr Saikou Sawo and Mrs Nenneh Cheyacine Kebe have consistently conducted themselves with civility, issue-based leadership, and deep respect for differing views. Their conduct reflects maturity, responsibility, and discipline, and aligns strongly with the PPP’s core values of tolerance, unity, and peaceful democratic engagement.
Mr Saikou Sawo is an aspiring presidential candidate, and the PPP warmly welcomes and encourages his aspiration. The party reaffirms that the Office of the Party Leader and Secretary General and the Office of the Presidential Flag Bearer are two distinct and independent offices, deliberately structured to safeguard internal democracy, fairness, and equal opportunity for all members.
The role of the Party Leader is to strengthen party institutions, protect internal democracy, and create an enabling environment in which every committed member can grow, lead, and aspire in accordance with the values and traditions of the PPP.
In this spirit, the PPP leadership unequivocally commits to providing a level playing field, institutional support, and all necessary resources to Mr Saikou Sawo, as the aspiring candidate for the position of PPP Presidential Flag Bearer, and—by the will of the Gambian people—to become President of the Republic in December 2026.
For Mr Saikou Sawo and Mrs Nenneh Cheyacine Kebe, the consideration to join the PPP is not merely about today’s leadership. It is about the proud legacy of the party’s founding fathers, who worked tirelessly to unite The Gambia, safeguard national sovereignty, and build a peaceful and independent nation despite extremely limited resources. That legacy of sacrifice, discipline, and patriotism remains the moral compass of the PPP today.
The PPP recognises Mr Saikou Sawo as a competent, capable, and committed leader who is ready to serve the Gambian people with integrity, humility, and vision.
The PPP is more than a political party—it is a national movement. It was the PPP that led The Gambia to independence, laying the foundations of peace, unity, and development. As rightly echoed by Mrs. Nenneh Cheyacine Kebe and Mr. Saikou Sawo, it is once again the responsibility of the PPP to lead the nation into a Golden Era.
The Secretary General and the Party Leader therefore call on all PPP members, supporters, and sympathizers to accord Mr. Saikou Sawo and Mrs. Nenneh Cheyacine Kebe full support, cooperation, and solidarity. All regional chairpersons and party structures are encouraged to welcome them warmly in the true spirit of the PPP family.
The PPP has consistently demonstrated that it is the only political party in The Gambia where all members are afforded the genuine opportunity to grow and lead, as clearly evidenced during our most recent elective congress, where an incumbent Party Leader was democratically defeated through a transparent and credible process. This historic outcome stands as a powerful testament to the PPP’s unwavering commitment to internal democracy, fairness, and respect for the will of its membership.
We are therefore very proud that Mr. Saikou Sawo and Mrs. Nenneh Cheyacine Kebe have identified the PPP as a credible and valuable political platform through which they can freely contest, compete, and ultimately win, based solely on merit and the confidence of party members and the Gambian people.
For a very long time, the PPP has issued a clarion call to all sons and daughters of the PPP to return home and reengage with the party’s noble mission. We are deeply encouraged and excited that the leadership of the Golden Era Movement has heeded this call, reaffirming the PPP’s enduring relevance as the true political home for progressive, patriotic Gambians.
Today, united in purpose, the PPP stands ready to usher The Gambia into an affordable nation one defined by dignity, opportunity, accountable leadership, and shared prosperity for all.
We therefore invite Mr Saikou Sawo and Nenneh Cheyacine to deliver their statements, after which we will take questions from the press.
Thank you.
Foday Singhateh,
President Diaspora,
People’s Progressive Party.
