By Omar Bah
The secretary general of the Gambia Action Party, Musa Yali Batchilly has refuted media reports that he had a secret meeting with President Adama Barrow purposely to divide the Kombo by electing Lamin Bojang as candidate.
According to Batchilly, in a write-up he signed and shared with The Standard, the party was accused of meeting President Barrow in an attempt to divide the Kombo votes by selecting Lamin Bojang as their candidate.
“We are very much aware of the stories and unfounded allegations been bandied about our party. But we want to assure the public that there is no iota of truth in these claims. Nothing like that had ever happened. We respect all political parties. We have no intention to divide any tribe or community based on political lines or regional lines. That is not our intention,” he said.
Batchilly said GAP has nothing to do with President Barrow apart from the respect they give him as the president.
The release continued: “We want to make it abundantly clear that, this was just deceptive tactics designed to deter the party’s recent progress in selecting a respectable person like Lamin Bojang as our flag-bearer. We believe Gambians should stop the individual attacks in the name of politics. We respect all tribes and we believe is only through unity that we could achieve our goals.”
“Our difference in the political arena is a clear manifestation that our strength as a nation rests on collectivism and not a sign of division. In GAP, we believe in policies and agendas that will develop our country, but not deceptive politics, smear campaign against political opponents, or calculated lies and tarnishing of people’s image.”
The party said their party leader coming from the Kombos has nothing to do with President Barrow or any political party.
“Why the sudden panic? Is it because our Presidential flag bearer is a native of Kombo? As a party we believe all citizens are equal in the party and can mount any distinguished position, regardless of one’s origin. The Gambia first! We discourage and distance ourselves from tribal politics, its affiliates or ideologies,” the GAP release noted.
