President Adama Barrow has appointed Sheikh Omar Faye, as the country’s first Defence Minister in two decades, in mini-cabinet reshuffle announced on Thursday.
Over the past two decades the country’s ministry of Defence has been under the Office of the President.
Until his appointment, Mr Faye was Consul General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
He is a retired military officer who served in peacekeeping under Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in the 1990s.
Under the reshuffle, the Minister of Interior Ebrima M. Mballow has been relieved of his duties and re-deployed to the Foreign Service.
He is replaced by Yankuba Sonko, who previously served as Inspector General of The Gambia Police Force under ex-president Yahya Jammeh.
Also, Ebrima O. Camara, Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service been relieved of his appointment.
However, the mini-cabinet reshuffle follows amidst threaten protest by Gambians to demand President Adama Barrow to step down in December as promised by coalition three-year transitional period.
President Barrow came to power with the backing of a coalition of seven political parties including an independent candidate that agreed to a three-year transitional period, but 1997 Constitution provides five years mandate for president.
However, during the campaign President Barrow promised to honored the agreement, but recently at a meeting in Brikama the Gambian leader announced that he will be in office for five years saying that he is back by the Constitution ‘whether one like it or not’
A group of concern Gambians called ‘Three years Jotna’ threaten to hold a peaceful protest demand for him to step down in December as promised during campaigns.