Gambiaj.com – (DAKAR, Senegal) – President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has appointed economist Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo as Senegal’s new prime minister following the dismissal of Ousmane Sonko amid escalating tensions within the ruling camp.
The appointment was announced Monday in a statement read on Senegal’s national broadcaster RTS, days after President Faye removed Sonko from office on Friday after months of strained relations between the two leaders.
Lo, a former national director of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) for Senegal, takes over at a politically sensitive moment marked by divisions within the ruling PASTEF party and uncertainty over the government’s reform agenda.
In March, Sonko publicly warned that he could take PASTEF into opposition if President Faye departed from the party’s political program. The statement heightened speculation about deepening fractures at the top of the state and raised concerns over the government’s ability to secure support from the International Monetary Fund for key economic reforms.
Speaking about the circumstances surrounding his predecessor’s departure, Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo cited several factors that allegedly contributed to Sonko’s dismissal.
According to him, disagreements over institutional functioning, an alleged lack of respect for administrative hierarchy, and insufficient coherence in government action were among the reasons behind the decision.
His remarks come as Senegal undergoes a reconfiguration of executive leadership, with the new administration gradually assuming its responsibilities.
Lo is widely known in Senegalese public administration and financial circles for his tenure as the BCEAO’s national director for Senegal.
He later served as Minister of State attached to the President of the Republic, where he was tasked with monitoring, steering, and evaluating Senegal’s national transformation agenda.
In that role, he oversaw the implementation and follow-up of strategic state policies and major national projects.
Before that appointment, he also served as secretary-general of the government, further consolidating his reputation as a senior technocrat with extensive experience in state administration.
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