By Omar Bah
UDP leader Ousainu Darboe has said his party will open its doors to President Adama Barrow whenever he comes calling but it will never compromise its principles.
Relations between Darboe and Barrow and their parties hit a new low in the lead to and after the December presidential election. Mr Darboe and his UDP have rejected the results of the election and accused the NPP and the IEC of a complot and engaging in a “monumental fraud”. The NPP and the electoral commission both denied the accusations.
But speaking in a Standard exclusive over the weekend, Mr Darboe said: “For me, NPP and Barrow are not my enemies and I bear no hostile intentions for them but of course I will not keep quiet over their evil deeds. I cannot. If the extension of an olive branch means I will pipe down, no, that cannot happen. But in any case these are hypothetical situations. If they find reasons that they want to talk to Ousainu Darboe and UDP, we will not reject it, we will consider it and if it is something that should be accepted, of course, we would.”
However, Mr Darboe reminded that at the onset of Covid-19, he approached government and other opposition leaders with suggestions on how to tackle the pandemic but he was ignored. But that, he said, does not mean his party will close its doors to the government or NPP.
UDP
Commenting on his party’s current state, Darboe said: “The UDP is as robust and strong as it was in January 2021 and we are as focused as we were in 2021. We are determined and very purposeful in our approach to things so the UDP that you know is the UDP that is here today. The future of the party is very bright.”
