By Omar Bah
The deputy party leader of the opposition APRC has said that former president Yahya Jammeh, who is in exile in Equatorial Guinea will again lead the party in the 2021presidential election.
“Yahya Jammeh will be coming back very soon and we are very sure he would be able to meet the IEC criteria,” Ousman ‘Rambo’ Jatta told Star FM’s Wake Up Show to be aired today.
Asked if Jammeh will not be barred by the new constitution, Rambo said they are aware of that but the draft Constitution is not going to pass the referendum.“APRC is going out 100% to vote against it because we are not going to vote a constitution that will bar Jammeh from contesting and I am sure the UDP too is going to vote against it because it doesn’t favour them. So I can assure you that the next election will be conducted under the 1997 Constitution,” Rambo said.
Asked to comment on social media reports suggesting there was a fight between him and one Seedy Bojang during a meeting at party leader Fabakary Tombong Jatta’s home, Rambo said: “When I saw it on Facebook I was baffled. The last time I was involved in a fight was 15 years ago. I was not even at Tallinding on that very day and there was no press conference either”.
UDP
Rambo, admired and disliked in equal measure, is a former UDP strong man, who cross-carpeted to the then ruling APRC party and became one of the most trusted and loyal close aides of Jammeh in his final years as president.
Asked whether he will ever re-join the UDP sometime in his political career, Jatta said he will never rejoin his former party. “Don’t talk to me about a UDP government. They will never rule this country. Don’t make me angry. UDP is the problem of this country and I want to urge them to come out and condemn their deputy leader Aji Yam Secka’s tribal comments. I also advise Gambians to ignore them; they are not the solution for this country,” he added.
Barrow
Turning to President Barrow, Rambo said his party is not even thinking of forming an alliance with the Gambian leader. “We don’t even discuss about Barrow and we are not even interested in him. We are thinking about how to win the next election in the first round. Many people who are with Barrow are there because of their pockets; they are not showing him the right direction. He doesn’t have a chance of winning the next election without an alliance with one of the big political parties,” Rambo concluded.
