By Oumie Mendy
Former mayor of Kanifing municipality, Yankuba Colley, has slammed the lid on any plan to resuscitate his political career and enter the fray to get his old job back in next year’s local government elections.
The populist politician who was also the then ruling APRC national mobiliser, left office in 2018 after serving for two terms in office.
A few months ago, he told journalists he would not rule out contesting for mayor.
But in a recent interview with journalists, Colley said: “I have made up my mind not to contest for re-election. I have done my part and I want to give a chance to others. I am satisfied with the little impact I was able to accomplish. National development is a continuous process, so someone else will pick up from where I stopped,” he said.
“KMC is bigger than one person, so others should continue from where we stopped. I believe we have many young people in this country who can take the place to another level,” he said.
Talking about his party which has split in two, the Tallinding politician said although the APRC has been beset by many “challenges”, it can still put up a respectable performance in future elections.
“We just had a retreat last week to pave a new chapter for the party. We have discussed plans to restructure the party especially when it comes to the laws guiding it,” he added.
He said the executive is working on diversifying the structures of the party to end its Foñi-centralisation.
“We are working hard to ensure that the party improves its presence in other parts of the country,” he noted.
Reconciliation
On whether the APRC executive will reconcile with the breakaway faction supported by former president and party leader Yahya Jammeh, Mr Colley said: “It is possible for us to reconcile because they are part of us. But I can tell you many supporters of the party do not support the breakaway camp. We will have a mega rally after the rainy season and people will see our strength.”
