By Oumie Bojang
Yankuba Dibba, the chief executive officer of OIC Gambia, has said that the delegates coming for the summit will only come if they perceive the country to be safe. He said no matter the roads, the buildings and hotels, delegates will only come if their safety is garanteed. Dibba said this during the unveiling of the National Security Plan, between the security sub-committee of the OIC Secretariat and heads of the security apparatuses in the country for the upcoming OIC summit.
The meeting held at the SDKJ conference centre brought together the National Security Council, The Police, Armed Forces, Immigration Department, Fire and Rescue Service, Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Gambia Revenue Authority, and head of health and safety team.
Dibba said the OIC has worked relentlessly over the past six years. “Our program was divided into two, the national project which had the hard, and soft part of it. The hard part is the one most people are aware of or consider, and that’s the infrastructural development. So for me security is the most important aspect of any such gathering. The OIC being the second largest gathering of all world world leaders apart from the UN General Assembly, qualifies it to be given the best of attention in terms of security. One of the delegates told me to ensure the country is safe,” he said.
Abubakr Jeng, National Security Adviser, said they’ve gone far as it relates to the preparation for the administrative and planning, and he can authoritatively say that The Gambia can deliver a successful summit because they have demonstrated that capability during African Union Summit. He said there is a need to safeguard these key points regarding the Summit, the standing of the president as far as his reputation is concerned in the international world, the image of the country, and most importantly the reputation of all servants given the responsibility of securing the country. “Therefore, it is our responsibility as security personnel to detect, deny, delay, and deter anything that has the potential to threaten the security of the venue and VVIPs that are going to be attending the summit.”
He said they are well alert on who enters or leaves the country, and assured the citizenry that they will deliver. “Security begins at home. I call on you to report on any threat you see, hear, and know manifesting to impact the success of the summit to enable us to mitigate it.”
