Testifying before the National Assembly Select Committee probing the sale and disposal of assets flagged by the Janneh Commission, Saidybah disclosed that in 2016, 33 government-owned pick-up trucks that were procured from TK Motors and delivered to State House, were labelled ‘APRC 1’ to ‘APRC 33’.
“The vehicles were brought to State House, and regional governors were summoned to collect them,” he revealed.
Saidybah explained that he was initially unaware the vehicles had been purchased by the government. “I later came to know that the vehicles belonged to the government when TK Motors submitted a claim and provided an inventory. During the verification exercise, I confirmed that the vehicles distributed to the APRC were indeed government property,” he said.
Responding to a question from the Commission’s Counsel on how his office distinguishes between vehicles bought by the government and those acquired by Jammeh personally, Saidybah admitted the process was difficult. “It’s very difficult to distinguish vehicles bought by Jammeh and those by the government. Jammeh would bring vehicles to the presidency without informing my office. We were only notified when the State Guard Commander instructed us on how they wanted the vehicles documented.”
"How am I expected to record a vehicle when it was never initially brought to my office for documentation?" he queried.
He cited a specific incident where a government purchased vehicle was handed over to a private individual. “They wanted the vehicle documents transferred to that individual. I wrote to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), and the necessary changes were effected,” he revealed.
Saidybah, who had served as the government’s vehicle controller at State House since 2012, also described troubling misuse of official vehicles. “It’s not uncommon to find government vehicles loaded with cement or firewood,” he said, calling it a blatant abuse of public resources.
On matters of oversight, Saidybah clarified that he reports directly to the Secretary General, Chief of Staff, and Minister of Presidential Affairs at the Office of the President, and occasionally to the IGP. “Sometimes the IGP instructs me to carry out police related duties,” he added.
He outlined the responsibilities of the Vehicle Control Office, which include managing all government vehicles nationwide, maintaining inventories for ministries, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and other departments. The office also issues driver licences to government drivers, clears vehicles for official international missions, and investigates accidents involving government and SOE vehicles among others.
Beyond inventory and control, Saidybah said his office also provides vehicles to ministries and SOEs, especially during major events such as the recent OIC conference. “Every year, we submit a comprehensive inventory of all government vehicles to the Secretary General. We also conduct patrols to ensure unauthorised use of government vehicles is detected and addressed.”
In conclusion, the witness stated that whenever an unauthorised government vehicle is found in a location where it is not supposed to be, his office writes to the head of the relevant department to address the matter. Saidybah is scheduled to reappear before the Commission on 27 August 2025.
