By Omar Bah
Former Finance Minister and opposition United Democratic Party’s National Treasurer, Amadou Sanneh, has criticised President Adama Barrow, claiming his leadership is leading The Gambia “astray.”
Sanneh argued that Barrow’s administration is mismanaging key policies, particularly in relation to his blocking of a new constitution and repealing of the Public Order Act.
Sanneh said he believes this mismanagement reflects a broader failure in governance under Barrow’s leadership. He was speaking at a UDP door-to door meeting.
The party is currently on a door-to-door campaign as part of its strategy for the upcoming 2026 presidential election.
The campaign aims to engage with voters on pressing issues such as internal security, governance, corruption, and health care, while emphasising the party’s commitment to democratic processes.
Addressing a gathering in one of the meetings at Galoya, West Coast Region, Sanneh said the government is going about launching ‘unrealistic projects’ that they have ‘no idea how to implement’.
“This government is not serving the interests of the Gambian people but their own selfish interests. We have all seen how he (Barrow) decided to increase his salary from D250,000 per month to D500,000 per month. He is making D6,000,000 million every year, and this money has nothing to do with his feeding, per diem, or other benefits. We are giving him D150,000 every day for his feeding, and this is coming from you, the Gambian people. It is your taxes,” he said.
Sanneh said despite all these benefits, Barrow and his close associates still believe Gambians owe them certain obligations, so being the case, they should worship them.
“Putting into consideration all that I said here, do you think we should allow them to drive us into the mud?” he asked to a rousing cheer from the gathering.
He said the president did all these things to satisfy himself and his family but refused to give Gambia the needed reforms he promised in 2016.
“He even has the guts to table a former president’s bill at the National Assembly seeking a lucrative retirement package for himself, which includes receiving the exact salary he was receiving as president, three vehicles, security, cooks, and even holidays abroad for him and his family, which will be funded by the state. Isn’t this selfish?” he asked.
He alleged that Mr. Barrow had shown his lack of respect for Gambians at the early stage of his presidency.
“I remember when we were invited to Brussels for a donor conference… Barrow requested for us to hire a chartered flight, but when I informed the organisers, they said that would not look good and we should join a normal passenger flight. However, when I informed Barrow about it, he was not happy. Just imagine somebody going to beg thinking of hiring a chartered flight,” he said.
Sanneh urged Gambian voters not to fall for the NPP’s tricks in 2026.
“Now is the time to give the UDP a chance to govern this country. You have to trust us and give us the opportunity to serve you. We have all seen how the Senegalese people decided to change Macky Sall despite all the good work he has done. To the Senegalese people, it was just not about development but good governance, and that is exactly what we lack in The Gambia,” he said.
Sanneh said there is no doubt that the majority of Gambians now want to see a change of government.
“All genuine Gambians have realised that the way the country is being governed is not right, so they want to see a change. This man (Barrow) said he is a bus driver, but he is driving his bus into the bush, so now we have to change the bus driver to rescue the bus so that all Gambians, irrespective of tribe or political affiliation, will have a space in the bus because a Gambian bus should accommodate all Gambians,” he added.
He also reminded the gathering of the role the UDP ministers played then to help the country secure $1.4 billion in pledges from international partners and how the Barrow administration has failed to leverage that goodwill.
