President Faye Gives Ultimatum To 4 Ministers

Since the complete break between Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko — materialised by the latter’s dismissal from the prime minister’s office at the end of May 2026 and his replacement by economist Ahmadou Al Aminou Lô — every gesture, every absence, every statement by figures from the former APTES coalition is being scrutinised. The countdown seems to have begun for four members of the government. Déthié Fall (Infrastructure), Cheikh Tidiane Dièye (Water and Sanitation), Boubacar Camara (Higher Education), and Moustapha Guirassy (National Education) have, according to La Voix+ newspaper, been ordered to clarify their political stance without delay. The message from the presidency is clear: stay in the government or leave, but there is no more room for ambiguity.

The four ministers, all former allies of the Pastef leader at the helm of their own allied parties, have for months been walking a tightrope: remaining in the government while avoiding a public break with Sonko.

This delicate balancing act became untenable on 25th July, during the inaugural general assembly of Kiiraay, Les Patriotes Républicains (The Republican Patriots), the new party launched by the head of state. Unlike many political figures, parliamentarians, and local elected officials who turned out in droves to show their support, the four ministers were conspicuously absent. This choice — or omission — was immediately interpreted within presidential circles as a political signal, even an admission of duplicity.

According to our sources, the president no longer intends to compromise on the issue of institutional loyalty. The message is now unequivocal: those who wish to keep their ministerial portfolios must publicly acknowledge their support for the presidential agenda and align themselves with the Kiiraay movement. Conversely, those who choose to maintain their allegiance to Ousmane Sonko would, according to this same logic, no longer be able to serve on the Council of Ministers.

A few weeks ago, Lansana Gagny Sakho, chairman of the board of directors of APIX, publicly denounced the attitude of certain ministers who, while holding government positions, were, in his view, behaving like opponents of the current administration.

Since then, several organisations close to the presidential movement have not hesitated to call the four ministers “double agents”, pointing to their refusal to formally join the new party or, failing that, to dissolve their own parties to fully join the camp of the president.

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