PPP flexes muscle ahead of congress

By Tabora Bojang The national executive committee of the People’s Progressive Party has announced that the first national congress of the party since 1994 will take place on Friday at the YMCA. The party that led The Gambia to independence in 1965 and retained in power until the Jammeh coup of 1994, is said to be preparing a comeback. Last night, senior officials of the party including those from whom little has been heard for long gathered to update the media on the weekend congress. The acting secretary general and national coordinator of the party Omar A Jallow, OJ said the objective of the upcoming congress is to revive the PPP to serve the Gambia better. “The elephant has woken up,” he said, describing the second coming of the PPP. He said the party is very “encouraged and feels very strong that the future is bright having seen their sons, daughters, nephews and nieces coming to join the party.” Bakary B Dabo, a former vice president and much respected first republic politician, also called BB, said they are aware of the challenges ahead but for now they are more focused on their strong conviction that the party should be raised back to its feet. He said the party maintains that most Gambians are reasonable and will get their message by making an informed choice of coming back to the PPP. “The PPP has been a force for good in this country and more importantly, we believe the PPP has a potential to be a force for good for many years to come. Therefore, that strong conviction is what will propel us to tie our belts tighter and revive the spirit of ‘Tesito’ that used to be the PPP’s guiding philosophy,” Dabo said. Friday’s congress, which will take place under the chairmanship of Hon. Alhaji Yaya Ceesay, will elect members to the different organs of the party with delegates coming from all 53 constituencies across the country.]]>