Salaheddine Aboughlali, an MP from the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), has strongly criticized Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi, stressing that the party’s “silence” over the Sahara Escobar scandal, allegedly implicating two members of the same political party – is shocking.
Aboughlali gave a lengthy interview to Moroccan news outlet Le360, in which he strongly criticized Ouhabi not in his role as a minister but primarily in his capacity as the Secretary General of PAM.
The “Sahara Escobar” case refers to the arrest of influential individuals, including PAM members Said Naciri and Abdenebi Biioui, who are allegedly linked to the notorious case.
In December 2023, police arrested Naciri, President of football club Wydad AC (WAC), and Biioui, an influential PAM members and the owner of Biioui infrastructure company
The arrest came after detained drug lord El Hadj Ahmed ben Ibrahim, known as the “Desert Escobar,” accused the influential politicians of being involved in the case, and of plotting against him, as well as seizing his assets after his detention.
With two of its influential being widely reported to be linked to this scandal, the Sahara Escobar case puts PAM in unprecedented political turmoil. PAM reacted to the case with a statement announcing the suspension of Naciri and Biioui from the party. Notably, the statement threatened legal action against perceived attempts to tarnish the party’s reputation through intentional defamation campaigns.
Aboughlali acknowledged the crisis within the party, describing Ouhabi as not the “right person at the helm of the PAM at the moment.”
When Le360 asked him if Ouhabi would run for re-election as the party’s Secretary-General, he said: “Probably, and it’s his right. I have nothing against Abdellatif Ouahbi personally, but I say that he is not the right person at the helm of the PAM at the moment, and the party will significantly weaken if he is reappointed for a second term.”
Aboughlal said he supports Ouhabi in the government as a Justice Minister, but he urged him against running for reelection at the next party’s congress.
Asked about the situation within PAM amid the Sahara Escobar case, Aboughlal said that his party owes Moroccans an explanation.
Read Also: ‘The Desert Escobar’: PAM Threatens Legal Action Against Attempts to ‘Tarnish’ Party’s Reputation
“It’s not the time to give up; it is the time to change direction. It is the moment to explain to Moroccans that the PAM will update its processes of accreditation and evaluation of candidacies, we have the means to do so without creating an internal force,” he said.
“Now is not the time to give up; it is the time to change direction. It is the moment to explain to Moroccans that the PAM will update its processes of accreditation and evaluation of candidacies; we have the means to do so without creating an internal police force,” he said.
The deputy also protested against the silence of the party regarding the Sahara Escobar case, with PAM’s downplaying the situation for the storm to pass.
“We must apologize to Moroccans for not having seen or detected the seed of this type of criminality,” Aboughlali said, noting that he is not the only party member who is shocked because of the party’s silence over the situation.
“The opponents of PAM are not those who will exploit this issue to weaken us, but those within our own political family who adopt silence as a method of response and downplay the future impact this matter could have on our political project… These are the real enemies of PAM, who are placing their ego and personal interests above the expectations of our voters and the party… They will not succeed, and PAM will not allow it,” he added.
