Dakar, Dec 18 (APS) – The daily newspapers received Wednesday at the Senegalese Press Agency (APS) mainly highlight the blockage observed at Dakar town hall following the dismissal of Barthélémy Dias and various subjects relating to the appeal of purposes of cancellation of its removal by the office of the National Assembly and the announced withdrawal of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
About this blockage, ”the town hall of Dakar accuses, the police denies”, headlines Le Témoin. ”Relations between the Dakar town hall and the National Police are at an unprecedented point of tension. A series of incidents that have occurred in recent days illustrate growing tensions between these two institutions, with mutual accusations and positions that concern public opinion,” reports the publication.
”The soap opera between Dakar town hall and the Police continues. This time, it is the media that the two institutions are seeking to legitimize their actions. The National Police issued a statement through its Communication and Public Relations Division in which it categorically rejects accusations that it blocked the activities of the mayor of Dakar, Barthélémy Dias and limited the access of municipal councilors to the city hall,” notes the newspaper.
”The Police deny reports of Barthélémy Dias and the Town Hall being blocked. In turn, the office of the Municipal Council denies the Police”, indicates Vox Populi, adding that ”the press release denying the Police has not had time to cool down before the municipal office of the city of Dakar comes out also a refutation of this denial”.
According to the Quotidien, ”the town hall charges the police, the police discharges”. For La Tribune ”the Police are evading, the municipal office persists”. ”The Police and the municipal office do not speak the same language,” L’As recalls in turn.
WalfQuotidien announces that Barthélémy Dias’ successor will be installed tomorrow, Thursday. ”The Municipal Council was also convened for this purpose by Ngoné Mbengue, first deputy mayor. Municipal councilors are also convened for the examination and adoption of the 2025 budget and the three-year investment plan 2025-2027,” writes the newspaper.
”The objective for local elected officials is to show that the municipal council is functioning normally and at the same time avoid the installation of a special delegation,” explains Walf, who highlights ”the municipal council in action ”.
Les Echos is interested in the appeal for annulment of the removal of Barthélémy by the office of the National Assembly. ”As promised Barthélémy Dias set in motion a pool of lawyers to attack the decision of the office of the National Assembly before the Constitutional Council. Thus Me Doudou Ndoye and his peers listed the texts violated in the procedure for their client’s removal before asking the wise men to annul the decision taken by the office of the National Assembly,” indicates the publication.
For EnQuête, for Barthélémy Dias it is a question of ”reborn or perishing”. The newspaper underlines “that by simultaneously losing the town hall of Dakar and his deputy seat, he finds himself facing a major challenge: rising from the ashes or disappearing from the political landscape.”
For its part, Le Soleil assesses ”the cost of divorce”, of the withdrawal of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) countries from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Through this withdrawal, ”72 million Malians, Burkinabés and Nigeriens could be required to have a visa to travel within the community, projects worth more than 500 million dollars on hold. Four regional agencies in Burkina Faso, two regional bodies in Mali and a regional office in Niger risk closing in addition to threatening the jobs of some 130 ECOWAS staff members, the newspaper warns.
The last ordinary summit of ECOWAS heads of state held in Abuja sets the date for this withdrawal as January 29, 2025.
AB
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