By Tabora Bojang
Following intense rumours about his health after his withdrawal from the campaign trail Monday, the UDP leader Ousainu Darboe has said his brief absence in the ongoing political campaigns in the LRR was because he came for a medical check-up in Banjul after he tripped.
Immediately after his party announced that he was taking a break, wild speculations grew that he may have been hospitalized after suffering a heat stroke in Kiang.
But speaking to Kerr Fatou last evening, Darboe explained: “Well I tripped and we tried to see if I can get treatment at the Mansakonko Health Centre but there are no X-Ray facilities available there. So we had to debate whether to go to Bansang or come to Banjul and it was decided that even though the facilities may be available in Bansang, they may not be sufficient and the doctor advised that I should come to an area where I will have proper attention and that is why I am here. If there was an X-Ray machine in Mansakonko then there would be no need for me to come to Banjul”.
He assured supporters of the UDP that he is well and sound to oversee his party’s election programs.
“I am well and okay. It is only normal that if such things happen you have to go and check. I was only not happy that I could not attend the meeting in Manduar [Kiang],” Darboe said.
Mr Darboe said the lack of basic facilities at Gambian health posts has vindicated his argument that health centers should be equipped to function well.
“This is why I am asking the Gambian people to vote for UDP so that we can address the huge inadequacies in our health care system as covered in our 5-point agenda. We will cut the expenditure on unnecessary travels and put it into meaningful social activities that will impact the lives of Gambians,” the UDP leader assured.
Darboe also remains optimistic about his party’s chances in the upcoming election.
He claimed that the UDP will sweep polls in December as he described LRR as the party’s fixed deposit while West Coast is its savings account.
He also lashed at his nemesis NPP of President Adama Barrow, calling them “noise makers”. “They had to return to Basse because they feared that we [UDP] have dismantled their plots of deception.”
According to Darboe, the people of Basse have turned their backs on President Barrow because they realised that he cannot deliver their needs. He called on all UDP supporters to turn out massively to welcome the returning campaign entourage today, Thursday. “I would join you soon,” he said.
