Marr Nyang–GEP Row Escalates as Payment Documents Emerge Over D175,000 Consultancy Deal

Marr Nyang is the founder and executive director of Gambia Participates, an organisation that says it promotes good governance and democratic participation.

When the Golden Era Party (GEP) was formed, its leaders, Saikou Sawo and Neneh Cheyassin Secka, were introduced to Marr. They were looking for a campaign manager.

They sat down with Marr, explained what they needed, and Marr basically said: “I’m interested, but please don’t call me a campaign manager.”

He preferred political consultant.

In an email to Saikou dated August 14, 2025, Marr explained his thinking: “I think it is best if I come as a political consultant; it is no different from a campaign manager, but I would prefer to be referred to as a political consultant.”

Fair enough. Same job, different name.

The discussion then moved to money. After some back and forth, they agreed on a monthly salary of D175,000.

Marr then set up another organisation, Project & Results Consulting Company Limited, to handle his work with the GEP while he continued running Gambia Participates.

And here is where things get interesting.

Marr was not supposed to engage in partisan politics. Yet, according to the GEP leaders, he agreed to work with them.

He started on August 19, 2025.

His responsibilities did not stop there. He was also asked to help the GEP find a media officer, a community liaison officer, and a spokesperson. Each position was expected to come with a monthly salary of D35,000.

For a while, everyone seemed to be on the same page.

Then came the political meetings.

According to Saikou and Neneh, Marr was not showing up at their public events. They felt he was avoiding being seen with them.

And that raised a question: How do you have a political consultant who appears to be practising the ancient political art of being nowhere to be found?

Saikou reportedly confronted Marr and told him:

“We cannot hire you and be paying you D175,000, and you don’t want to be active in our activities. You can wear a mask if you want.”

At that point, things were clearly not going according to the campaign plan.

Eventually, the GEP decided it was time to end the arrangement. They terminated the contract on October 19.

Marr then sent them an invoice for the entire month of October.

The GEP leaders said: “October has 31 days, but you worked 19 of them.”

They told him they would only pay for the 19 days.

Marr apparently considered taking the matter to court but also had another problem to think about.

As an activist and executive director of Gambia Participates, an organisation that presents itself as non-partisan, a public legal battle over a political consultancy arrangement might raise uncomfortable questions.

So, instead of heading straight to court, Marr went to Police Headquarters and met Commissioner Habib Sanyang.

The commissioner then summoned Saikou.

After what is described as a lengthy discussion, the GEP agreed to pay Marr an additional D65,000 for the remaining days in October.

Recently, Gambia Participates organised a presidential election poll ahead of the December presidential election.

After the poll results were released, Neneh publicly criticised Marr and told Gambians they should not trust the guy.

Then came the revelation: Neneh disclosed that Marr worked for her and Saikou as campaign manager, aka political consultant.

On September 2, Marr’s lawyer, Abdoulie Fatty, sent a pre-court notice to Saikou and Neneh, asking them to stop talking about Marr.

The lawyer claimed that Marr signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the GEP. In simple terms, the lawyer’s position was that the parties agreed to keep their arrangement private.

Fatty wrote that some of the statements being circulated were false, including the claim that Marr was hired personally by the GEP as its campaign manager.

The lawyer warned that any further false allegations, insinuations, or innuendo about Marr could lead to legal action.

At this point, you might expect the story to end with everyone quietly putting their phones away.

Apparently not.

Saikou and Neneh decided to ignore the lawyer’s warning and continued revealing details about their dealings with Marr.

And then came the receipts.

They have started releasing documents showing payments made to Marr through Project & Results Consulting Company Limited.