By Omar Bah
Presidential youth adviser and deputy national mobiliser, National People’s Party, has accused the opposition Gambia Democratic Congress of refusing to accept Adama Barrow’s presidency.
The GDC leader Mamma Kandeh and President Barrow are local political rivals in Jimara where Kandeh beat the future president at National Assembly elections in 2007.
Recently, unconfirmed reports said President Barrow has reportedly approached Kandeh to work with him but Kandeh reportedly rejected the offer and told those sent by the president to ask him to call him directly.
Addressing some villagers from Siwol, who claimed to have left the GDC to join Barrow’s NPP, Dodou Sanno said: “The NPP is now focusing and targeting GDC supporters and not APRC because APRC, despite being the former government, has now accepted God’s will but GDC has deliberately refused to accept the Barrow presidency. That said, I want to emphasise that we are all equal in this country – the Mandinka, Wollof, Jola, Fula and all the other tribes are all equal here. Nobody is more powerful than the other in this country. We all have one vote.”
Mr Sanno told the villagers that President Barrow is committed to ensuring his development agenda reaches all corners of the country, especially rural Gambia who have been left out for years.
“The government’s massive infrastructural transformation could reach the entire country because when he came to power, the country was financially bankrupt. There was only one-month import cover but thanks to his leadership qualities the country has come out of those predicaments. If you vote for him in December, he will transform this country,” Sanno said.
“I want to urge all of you to vote for the president in December so that he can continue his development agenda. Someone like me could have sat and enjoyed the little thing I have. But No. I have to stand my ground and support Barrow – he deserves to be supported because he has the interest of this country at heart,” Sanno said.
GDC reacts
When contacted for comments, the Gambia Democratic Congress national youth president Modou MC Cham said: “The GDC has always accepted Barrow’s presidency but what we don’t accept is his incompetence to lead this country to the dream land. You don’t expect us to support Barrow based on lies. That will never happen.
“So really if they think it is God who made Barrow president let them sit and wait for God to return him to the State House in December. I challenge them not to campaign and just wait for God to reelect him.”
On the reported cross-carpeting, MC Cham said “all those people the NPP is parading as GDC supporters are from the APRC but because they are talking to the APRC for a coalition, they don’t want to announce that to offend them”.
“We don’t recognise any of these people they are parading. I think the NPP has turned into a party of comedians. They are just so desperate to get Barrow re-elected which they know is increasingly proving unlikely,” he said.
Mr Cham said the GDC will continue to criticise the president whenever they deem it necessary.
