Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has launched a blistering attack on Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, accusing him of betraying the trust of the Senegalese people and abandoning the reform ideals that brought his administration to power. In a statement issued on Wednesday, 27 May 2026, Frank threw his weight behind Senegal’s newly elected Speaker of the National Assembly, Ousmane Sonko, and warned that the political crisis unfolding in the West African nation reflects a “painful betrayal” of the revolutionary vision championed by Sonko and the PASTEF movement.
The controversy follows President Faye’s dramatic dismissal of Sonko as prime minister on Friday, 23 May 2026, and the dissolution of the cabinet after months of growing tension between the two former allies. In a stunning rebuff to the president, Senegal’s National Assembly on Tuesday, 26 May 2026, overwhelmingly elected Sonko as its speaker with 132 votes in favour, with no member voting against him. Sonko replaced El Malick Ndiaye, a loyal supporter who resigned on Sunday, 24 May 2026, paving the way for the former prime minister’s appointment. The opposition, which had boycotted the vote by walking out of the chamber, denounced the move as an “institutional coup”.
Frank argued that Sonko played the defining role in reshaping Senegal’s political landscape long before President Faye emerged on the national scene, describing the former prime minister as the symbol of resistance against the former administration of ex-President Macky Sall. The international affairs adviser recalled that after Sonko’s strong performance in the 2019 presidential election, he became Senegal’s most formidable opposition figure, leading to years of political persecution, controversial arrests and legal battles aimed at preventing him from becoming president. Frank maintained that despite imprisonment and eventual disqualification from contesting the 2024 presidential election, Sonko remained committed to the movement and mobilised supporters from detention to back Faye as the continuity candidate for the PASTEF vision.
“Without Sonko’s sacrifices, political structure, popularity and influence among Senegalese youths, Bassirou Diomaye Faye would almost certainly never have become president,” Frank stated. He noted that even President Faye publicly acknowledged Sonko’s role during his inauguration by crediting him for the movement’s victory and sacrifices. However, Frank alleged that shortly after assuming office, the Faye administration began deviating from the ideals that inspired the movement, particularly through the alleged return of individuals associated with the former Macky Sall administration into positions of influence.
Frank’s most serious accusation was that President Faye is taking Senegal back under French influence, contrary to the aspirations of the reform movement. “The fight between President Faye and PM Sonko is mainly because President Faye has betrayed the trust reposed in him by the Senegalese people by taking Senegal back to the control of France,” Frank alleged. He added that many supporters of Sonko now view the development as a betrayal of the revolution they fought for and fear that the political establishment the movement sought to dismantle is quietly regaining influence.
Millions of Senegalese youths who supported the PASTEF movement in pursuit of accountability, sovereignty and institutional reforms are now disillusioned by what they perceive as a gradual return to the old political order, Frank said. He urged Senegalese citizens to remain steadfast and continue supporting Sonko’s leadership and long-term vision for the country, describing him as the “authentic face of the struggle for a new Senegal built on economic independence, youth empowerment, institutional reforms and African self-determination”.
Frank, who serves as the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, also advised Sonko to begin building broader international alliances, particularly with the United States and other global partners willing to support democratic development and economic growth without undermining Senegal’s sovereignty. According to Frank, Senegal stands at a critical crossroads between genuine reform and a return to entrenched political structures. He warned that history would ultimately judge whether President Faye upheld the revolutionary ideals that brought him to power or aligned himself with the political establishment the Senegalese people voted to reject.
Meanwhile, President Faye has named senior economist Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lo as the new prime minister, saying the new appointee had the expertise to steer Senegal out of its crippling debt, which stands at 132 per cent of GDP. Sonko, in his first address as speaker, promised not to use his position to “orchestrate institutional chaos” and emphasised that the National Assembly would not be a “rubber stamp body”, but a source of checks and balances. The high-profile political divorce between the former allies, both from the same party, now risks pitting President Faye against the charismatic Sonko and his supporters in parliament, where Pastef controls 130 of the 165 seats.
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