March 27, (THEWILL) – President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Senegalese opposition candidate, Mr. Bassirou Diomaye Faye, on his election as the President of the Republic of Senegal.
THEWILL reports that the presidential elections held on Sunday, March 24, saw Faye, 44, pull the lead in a crowd of seventeen presidential candidates, including prominent figures like Amadou Ba (age 62), a former minister of economy and finance and then foreign affairs; Sall’s preferred successor, Idrissa Seck (age 64), a former prime minister and 4-time presidential candidate, and Khalifa Sall (age 68), leader of the Taxawu Senegal coalition.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, President Tinubu noted that the Senegalese President-elect comes with great promise and a sterling record, wishing him success as he takes on this important job of leading the good people of Senegal.
The President also congratulated His Excellency, President Macky Sall, for overseeing an election that has been widely adjudged as peaceful and transparent.
He stated that the success of the presidential election in Senegal and the successful conduct of the general election in Liberia a few months ago have affirmed his long-held conviction that the taproot of democracy is deeply established in West Africa and will only grow stronger as it is watered by good governance, justice, and fairness to all.
As the Chairman of ECOWAS, the President affirmed that the successful conduct of the Senegal election is a boost to the sub-regional organisation in its efforts to promote peace and constitutional order, as well as strengthen ties among member states.
President Tinubu congratulated the people of Senegal and assured them of Nigeria’s best wishes and support.
Faye is the anointed candidate of Senegal’s firebrand opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko.
Born in 1980 in West-Central Senegal’s Ndiaganiao, Faye met Sonko while working as a tax inspector in the government’s taxes and estates department, where they were instrumental in the formation of the Taxes and Estates Union.
According to Faye’s biography on his campaign website, he was often at the top of his class growing up. He graduated from high school on Senegal’s southern coast in 2000, then studied law and got a Master’s degree from Dakar’s Cheikh Anta Diop University.
In 2004, the devout Muslim passed the competitive entrance exam to Senegal’s National School of Administration, which trains the former French colony’s top civil servants, where he specialised as a tax inspector.
He was arrested in April 2023, a few months before Sonko was also held, and charged with contempt of court and defaming magistrates, charges Faye had denied. Crucially, unlike Sonko, he was not barred from running in elections.
Mr. Faye and Mr. Sonko have captivated young people by excoriating political elites, pledging to renegotiate contracts with oil and gas companies, and promising “monetary sovereignty”, signalling a departure from the popular CFA even though they have toned down on its implementation.
Faye is married with two wives – Marie Khone and Absa. The first wife, Marie, is a mother of four children, 3 boys and a girl. The second wife, Absa, has no child yet.
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