After weeks of uncertainties and the eventual exit of Gambia’s former president Yahya Jammeh, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reports that over $11million has been declared missing from The Gambia’s treasury as the ex-leader goes into exile.
Recall that Jammeh, who was defeated by incumbent Adama Barrow, in the December 1 presidential poll, finally left the country in the evening of Saturday, January 21, 2017 after 22 years of holding sway as the president of the tiny West African country.
The new Gambia leader, Barrow, has promised to look at all the documents and evidence and clarify all issues as soon as he returns to Banjul.
An adviser to President Barrow, Mai Ahmad Fatty, who spoke to reporters in the Senegalese capital Dakar, said that The Gambia was in financial distress as a result of this.
“The coffers are virtually empty. It has been confirmed by technicians in the ministry of finance and the Central Bank of the Gambia,” Fatty said.
“There is no money in the coffers. It’s what we have been told. But the day we actually take office, I will take a look at all the documents and evidence and we will clarify all of it,” President Barrow on the other hand reportedly said.
Fatty alleged that more than $11m has disappeared from The Gambia’s treasury in the past two weeks alone.
The BBC however has not been able to independently verify the claims.