{"id":92110,"date":"2025-12-16T16:11:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T16:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/dr-gajigo-rejects-d30-million-consultancy-over-independence"},"modified":"2025-12-16T17:56:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T17:56:57","slug":"dr-gajigo-rejects-d30-million-consultancy-over-independence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dr-gajigo-rejects-d30-million-consultancy-over-independence","title":{"rendered":"Dr Gajigo Rejects D30 Million Consultancy over Independence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Dr. Ousman Gajigo, an economist and the leader of the Patriotic Progressive Alliance, said he rejected a government offer of 30 million dalasis for consultancy work that he believes was intended to discourage him from publicly criticizing the management of the country\u2019s economy.<\/b><\/p>\n

In an interview with West Coast Radio, Dr. Gajigo said the offer came after he began publishing articles critical of government corruption and economic mismanagement. He described the proposed contract as vague and unnecessary, reinforcing his belief that it was meant to buy his silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot long ago, I was called and offered a contract for 30 million dalasis,\u201d he said. \u201cFor doing what? Probably nothing. Those were all tricks to try to silence somebody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Gajigo said the consultancy proposal contained no clear description of duties, which he viewed as evidence that the offer was not based on genuine professional need. He added that similar approaches had been made to him on more than one occasion.<\/p>\n

According to Dr. Gajigo, the experience strengthened his resolve to enter politics rather than retreat from public life. He said his decision was driven not only by the alleged offer but also by longstanding concerns about governance that, in his view, are well documented.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if that hadn\u2019t happened, there were other proofs that you could find, because you can read any audit report in the government, and there is no shortage of examples,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Gajigo also sought to dispel speculation about his political affiliations, saying he has never been a member of the United Democratic Party or any other political party. \u201cI was never a member of the UDP,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just an assumption people made, maybe because I appeared with Lamin Manneh multiple times.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the Patriotic Progressive Alliance was formed to provide Gambians with an alternative ahead of the 2026 elections, arguing that voters deserve more than a repetition of familiar political choices.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople needed a new option,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it would be a good idea to present the electorate with the same options again, so I felt it was important to give people a different alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Gajigo emphasized that his entry into politics was not motivated by personal gain or a lack of opportunities elsewhere. He said he had declined invitations to meet with the president and turned down what he described as substantial financial offers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going into politics because I have no other option,\u201d he said. \u201cI have been offered huge sums of money for doing nothing, and I turned those down.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – Gambia. Dr. Ousman Gajigo, an economist and the leader of the Patriotic Progressive Alliance, said he rejected a government offer of 30 million dalasis for consultancy work that he believes was intended to discourage him from publicly criticizing the management of the country\u2019s economy. In an interview with West Coast Radio, Dr. Gajigo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":92109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-92110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nDr Gajigo Rejects D30 Million Consultancy over Independence - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dr. Ousman Gajigo, an economist and the leader of the Patriotic Progressive Alliance, said he rejected a government o ...\" \/>\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\/dr-gajigo-rejects-d30-million-consultancy-over-independence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dr Gajigo Rejects D30 Million Consultancy over Independence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dr. Ousman Gajigo, an economist and the leader of the Patriotic Progressive Alliance, said he rejected a government o ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dr-gajigo-rejects-d30-million-consultancy-over-independence\" \/>\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=\"2025-12-16T16:11:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-16T17:56:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/sm_1765895076.853575.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=\"3 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\/dr-gajigo-rejects-d30-million-consultancy-over-independence#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dr-gajigo-rejects-d30-million-consultancy-over-independence\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Dr Gajigo Rejects D30 Million Consultancy over Independence\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-16T16:11:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-16T17:56:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dr-gajigo-rejects-d30-million-consultancy-over-independence\"},\"wordCount\":449,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dr-gajigo-rejects-d30-million-consultancy-over-independence#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/sm_1765895076.853575.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dr-gajigo-rejects-d30-million-consultancy-over-independence#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dr-gajigo-rejects-d30-million-consultancy-over-independence\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dr-gajigo-rejects-d30-million-consultancy-over-independence\",\"name\":\"Dr Gajigo Rejects D30 Million Consultancy over Independence - 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