Following reports from former President Yahya Jammeh, who accused Senegal of stealing Gambia's oil, a senior government official has confirmed to The Point that there are oil prospects in The Gambia due to the country's geological formation.

However, he was quick to add that these must be explored first to confirm the availability of oil in the country, saying, "The seismic data has provided good technical oil prospects, but no discoveries have been made.

Former President Yahya Jammeh, currently in exile in Equatorial Guinea, released an audio recording last week claiming that the country has oil. Since the audio's release, Gambians, both home and abroad have taken to social media to react to the news, with some urging the government to issue a statement for clarification, while others believe that Yahya Jammeh is simply making his usual rants in audio form.

"I can certainly tell you that the Gambia government will issue a statement to clarify about Jammeh's audio. But the truth is that, the country can't have oil and the government sit on it or allow it to be taken by any party. That's not possible. There's oil prospect in the country due to our geographic location with Senegal, but government is yet to discover anything. Still now studies and others issues are ongoing," the senior government official told our reporter on the condition of anonymity.

Jammeh accuses Senegal, coalition gov't of stealing Gambia's oil

The Point Newspaper 02/06/2025