Sheriff Gomez Is The New Sports Minister!!!

….Axi Gye Fired!!

By MB Ceesay and Musa Jobe Banjul

Following  threats to kill a Point Newspaper Sports Writer Ebrima Manneh, Mass Axi Gye , Gambia’s Sports Minister has been fired. The move followed an investigations conducted by Government to ascertain the veracity of the reporters claims. The disgraced Minister has been replaced by Sheriff Gomez, said a statement issued by the office of the President today.

 Official sources said the sacked Minister threats to kill the Point Reporter was viewed seriously by the President. “ Mass Axi Gye committed suicide by openly commenting on the said case without cabinet’s approval. Considering the magnitude of the problem, he ought to have allowed the investigations to take its cause. The Point Editor Pap Saine is also being watched by the Agency. It’s reported that he briefed Mass about the said story, which provoked the Minister’s  reaction. The agency has been reliably informed that it was Pap Saine who compromised the reporter’s privacy. He personally contacted Axi Gye, who later prevailed on him to drop the story. It’s unfortunate that Axi lost his job, but the Point Editor should be blamed for it.” Said the NIA official.

Axi Gye was earlier summoned for questioning, by the President and he could not justify his gross misconduct by threatening a reporter with death. “ The President has long been blamed for some of the deaths taking place in this country. In order to preserve his Government’s image, he decided to send the Minister packing. Most of the time public officials, including the military had been acting on their own without the President’s consent. This is an isolated incident. Axi wants to use Pap Saine because they are both from Banjul to intimidate the poor reporter. Axi is gone now.” Said the official.

 The Point Editor Pap Saine has earlier denied reporting reporter Ebrima Manneh to the erstwhile Minister, but critics say Saine is in the business of socializing with Government officials. His relationship with Mass Axi  Gye is no secret to the ordinary man in Banjul.

The journalist doyen, who is also the Dean of  the Reuters Correspondents in Africa was a close associate of the late slain Editor Deyda Hydara. Efforts to reach Pap Saine for comments on the allegations that he cost Axi Gye his job proved futile.

For more on this story, stay tuned. Our Banjul Bureau Chief Musa Jobe is compiling the rest of the story.