President Of Senegal Makes First Major Appointment After His Swearing In

Senegal’s newly inaugurated President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has swiftly appointed Ousmane Sonko as the country’s prime minister.

Faye, aged 44, took the presidential oath on Tuesday amidst the presence of numerous officials and African heads of state, including Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, at an exhibition center in the new town of Diamniadio, near Dakar.

After the inauguration, Faye returned to the capital, where he was welcomed by jubilant residents and supporters lining the roads leading to the presidential palace. There, his predecessor, Macky Sall, symbolically handed over the key to the presidential headquarters before departing.

Within hours of assuming office, Faye’s administration announced the appointment of 49-year-old opposition leader, Sonko, as prime minister.

“Mr. Ousmane Sonko is named prime minister,” declared Oumar Samba Ba, the general secretary of the presidency, who read out a decree on the public television station RTS.

Sonko, who was disqualified from the recent presidential race, endorsed Faye as his replacement on the presidential ballot. Both Faye and Sonko were part of a group of opposition politicians released from prison 10 days before the March 24 presidential ballot under an amnesty announced by former President Macky Sall, who had attempted to delay the vote.