{"id":89015,"date":"2025-10-30T20:16:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T20:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/rights-group-urges-end-to-albayrak-deal-after-loan-reveal"},"modified":"2025-10-30T20:55:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T20:55:28","slug":"rights-group-urges-end-to-albayrak-deal-after-loan-reveal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/rights-group-urges-end-to-albayrak-deal-after-loan-reveal","title":{"rendered":"Rights Group Urges End to Albayrak Deal after Loan Reveal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>A storm of outrage is brewing over revelations that the Turkish company Albayrak allegedly sought to use the Banjul Port as collateral for a private bank loan, a move now described as a threat to national sovereignty.<\/b><\/p>\n

In a statement released on October 27, 2025, the Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice (EFSCRJ) called for the immediate termination of the Albayrak concession agreement, describing the act as \u201cscandalous\u201d and \u201can affront to national sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rights group\u2019s reaction follows a leaked letter from the Managing Director of the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA), Ousman Jobarteh, addressed to Albayrak. Dated October 15, 2025, the letter raised strong objections to the company\u2019s bid to secure a loan from Zenith Bank (Gambia) Limited without the knowledge or consent of the GPA, a violation of the existing Concession Agreement.<\/p>\n

Jobarteh\u2019s letter noted that the proposed credit facility \u201cintroduces a potential encumbrance\u201d on the Banjul Port\u2019s assets and warned that the GPA \u201ccannot and does not consent\u201d to any loan that uses the port as security. He stressed that such financing deviates from the original project structure and risk-sharing model agreed upon between the parties.<\/p>\n

EFSCRJ argued that the development shatters the government\u2019s earlier justification that Albayrak had the financial capacity to modernize the Banjul Port and construct a new port in Sanyang. \u201cIf Albayrak were truly capable, it would not be seeking loans, much less proposing to pledge a sovereign asset as collateral,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

The Centre further accused the company of acting \u201cbehind the back\u201d of its Gambian partner, calling the move \u201cbad faith\u201d and grounds for immediate contract termination. It described the 30-year concession as \u201ceconomically irrational, politically irresponsible, and morally indefensible,\u201d warning that it amounts to an \u201ceconomic crime\u201d against the Gambian people.<\/p>\n

EFSCRJ demanded the restoration of full control of the Banjul Port to the state, a parliamentary inquiry into the deal, and reforms to protect all strategic national assets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Banjul Port is Gambian heritage not for sale, not for collateral, and not for exploitation,\u201d the Centre declared.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. A storm of outrage is brewing over revelations that the Turkish company Albayrak allegedly sought to use the Banjul Port as collateral for a private bank loan, a move now described as a threat to national sovereignty. In a statement released on October 27, 2025, the Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":89014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-89015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nRights Group Urges End to Albayrak Deal after Loan Reveal - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A storm of outrage is brewing over revelations that the Turkish company Albayrak allegedly sought to use the Banjul P ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/rights-group-urges-end-to-albayrak-deal-after-loan-reveal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rights Group Urges End to Albayrak Deal after Loan Reveal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A storm of outrage is brewing over revelations that the Turkish company Albayrak allegedly sought to use the Banjul P ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/rights-group-urges-end-to-albayrak-deal-after-loan-reveal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-30T20:16:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-30T20:55:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1761845096.306417.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/rights-group-urges-end-to-albayrak-deal-after-loan-reveal#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/rights-group-urges-end-to-albayrak-deal-after-loan-reveal\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Rights Group Urges End to Albayrak Deal after Loan Reveal\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-30T20:16:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-30T20:55:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/rights-group-urges-end-to-albayrak-deal-after-loan-reveal\"},\"wordCount\":364,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/rights-group-urges-end-to-albayrak-deal-after-loan-reveal#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1761845096.306417.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/rights-group-urges-end-to-albayrak-deal-after-loan-reveal#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/rights-group-urges-end-to-albayrak-deal-after-loan-reveal\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/rights-group-urges-end-to-albayrak-deal-after-loan-reveal\",\"name\":\"Rights Group Urges End to Albayrak Deal after Loan Reveal - 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