By Omar Bah
The United Democratic Party leader has brushed aside calls for his retirement, saying his dream for a better Gambia is what keeps him going.
Only yesterday, his former protégé in the party President Adama Barrow claimed that Ousainu Darboe has refused to take a voluntary retirement but will be forced to take one by the NPP-APRC alliance.
But addressing his supporters in Tallinding, Mr Darboe said he has not contemplated retiring because he cannot do so when Gambian children are going to bed hungry. “When there are no medicines in our hospitals. They said I am not contented but how can I be when basic things are still a daily struggle for the majority of Gambians? I will continue fighting until that time when Gambian children will enjoy the same education I and my children enjoy,” Darboe told supporters.
Mr Darboe said through his stay in government, he had always defended the interest of the country and that is why even when people were asking him to resign, he kept on waiting to be sacked and be told why.
”But since I left, I have not been told why I was sacked or that I have done something wrong because I have always defended the country’s interest,” he said.
The veteran politician called on Gambian women to vote for UDP in December for the future of their sons and daughters. He said the UDP is the party that has the right policies to salvage the country from its current predicament. “If you want your sons and daughters to stay and earn a decent living in this country, vote for UDP in December. Your children are living in this country because they have hope in their own country but if you vote for the UDP in December, there will be no more backway. All our young people will stay here and earn a decent living. I urge all of you to come out in December and vote for a government and individuals who have the country at heart,” Darboe appealed.
