In a press release dated September 24, 2026, the group said it does not recognize the alliance.
"We, the undersigned, consisting of significant group of founding members, Executive Members, Regional Chairpersons and other members of the former All Peoples Party hereby state in unequivocal terms that we do not agree to the APP-Sobeyaa alliance with NPP," the statement said.
Signatories include Deputy Party Leader Maila Touray, Regional Chairman Alhagie Babou Jeng, Sir Jackal Cham, Mam Seedy Njie, Mbye Jobe and Saidina Kebbeh.
The former APP was registered by the IEC in January 2020 and later merged with the Sobeyaa Movement to become APP-Sobeyaa. Faal was elected leader at a congress on December 21, 2024.
The dissenting group said the APP was formed to establish a democratic, people-centered government focused on transparency, poverty reduction, job creation and national development. They said the merger with Sobeyaa was based on those principles.
"Recently, however, the leader of the Party, Essa Mbye Faal decided to deviate from these principles, and join the ruling NPP without due process, as required by Party Constitution which provides that such decisions must be ratified by Congress," they said.
They accused Faal of violating the constitution and acting against the party's interests, disassociated themselves from the alliance, and demanded his immediate resignation.
"He would, after resigning as the APP-Sobeyaa Party Leader, then be free as an individual to join any Party of his choice," the group said. They added that Touray will coordinate further actions.
In a response on September 25, APP-Sobeyaa leadership dismissed the statement as unauthorized.
"APP-Sobeyaa has taken note of the statement issued on 24 September 2026 by a group of individuals claiming to speak on behalf of the Party. It is worth noting that only one of the signatories is a member of the Executive Committee," the party said.
"For the avoidance of doubt, that statement is not the position of APP-Sobeyaa and was not authorised by the National Executive."
The leadership said the claim that the alliance was Faal's personal decision is "factually incorrect."
"The National Executive, acting under the mandate entrusted to it by Congress, consulted all Regional Chairpersons on the proposed alliance. Following those consultations, the leadership voted overwhelmingly in favour of allying with the NPP based on the party's reforms agenda," it said.
The party said members can disagree but cannot create a parallel position through the media.
"The Party's constitutional processes provide mechanisms for legitimate disagreement. A press release does not replace those processes, nor does it overturn decisions taken by authorised structures," it said.
The dispute sets the stage for a possible leadership and constitutional battle within APP-Sobeyaa ahead of the December 2026 presidential election.
