Constitutional Council and special appropriations: Yankhoba Diémé's legal clarification

While touring the southern region to meet with religious and traditional leaders, as well as the kings of the Oussouye department, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Yankhoba Diémé, delivered a message on behalf of the President of the Republic. At the heart of his remarks was the need for clarification regarding the use of so-called secret or special funds, in a context marked by the recent decision of the Constitutional Council, which called the parliamentary majority to order.

While reaffirming the commitments of the government plan for Casamance — particularly through the ongoing infrastructure projects — the minister was keen to deliver the “true version” of the facts to traditional and religious leaders in order to put an end to the growing controversies.

“ An institutional tool to support social regulators”

Yankhoba Diémé reiterated that these funds exist as part of the structure of all sovereign states and that no head of state can do without them. According to him, these resources primarily serve to support traditional and religious authorities in their mission of social regulation and the preservation of national peace. "No one is obligated to explain that they helped a Caliph or a traditional authority to establish the country's stability. The law itself forbids it," he emphasized, condemning public pronouncements which, in his view, weaken the state.

Speaking on legal grounds after the Constitutional Council's ruling, the Minister of the Armed Forces was careful to distinguish between the domain of law and that of regulations. "As soon as you refer to a decree, it proves that the domain falls under regulations and not the law. I face the press with a law to justify my actions," he stated, believing that this legal clarification should have immediately put an end to the controversy.

Placing the presidential approach within the republican continuity — from Léopold Sédar Senghor to Macky Sall —, Yankhoba Diémé concluded by recalling that political funds are not a personal privilege, but rather an institutional instrument intended to consolidate the pillars of stability and national harmony.