Aly Ngouille Ndiaye’s revelations on Ousmane Sonko’s political funds

Former Interior Minister Aly Ngouille Ndiaye has reignited discussions surrounding the special funds allocated to high-ranking state officials. Before delving into presidential funds, Ndiaye emphasized that Ousmane Sonko should first account for his management of resources provided during his tenure as head of government.

Reflecting on the origins of this allocation, Aly Ngouille Ndiaye asserted that the current Prime Minister is the inaugural Senegalese head of government to receive dedicated political funds for his office. He pointed out that most former Prime Ministers, with the exception of Boun Abdallah Dionne, are still alive, confirming that neither Dionne nor Amadou Bâ ever had access to such an individual budgetary allowance. Ndiaye also noted that Sidiki Kaba, who succeeded Sonko in the Prime Minister’s office, served for too short a period for this specific issue to arise in his case.

Uncertainty surrounds the 1.7 billion FCFA

The former minister then addressed the 1.7 billion FCFA figure, a sum frequently mentioned by Ousmane Sonko himself, yet without clear clarification regarding its periodicity. While some suggest it’s a quarterly allocation, others believe it to be an annual amount. Ngouille Ndiaye highlighted that if this endowment were indeed quarterly, the annual total would approach 8 billion FCFA.

Ndiaye further echoed previous statements made by Abdourahmane Diouf, indicating that the 1.7 billion FCFA allocation had been entirely spent before Sonko requested any additional budget. For Ndiaye, the observation that Sonko’s successor in the Prime Minister’s office found no remaining funds confirms the full depletion of the initial quarter’s allocation – a point he presented as a factual observation rather than an accusation.

Finally, Aly Ngouille Ndiaye argued that for the sake of consistency and transparency, Ousmane Sonko should have included his own management of special funds within the scope of the investigative commissions he himself established. He also hinted at possessing further information on the matter, choosing not to disclose it publicly at this juncture.