By Omar Bah
The United Democratic Party has gone on the offensive, branding Seedy Njie’s claim that its leader Ousainu Darboe invited him to join UDP in 2017 as “false and entirely misleading.”
In a rebuttal letter shared with The Standard, UDP says it was Seedy Njie who chased Darboe, not the other way around — and he was turned away.
“The attention of the United Democratic Party has been drawn to a headline published by The Standard Newspaper claiming that Seedy Njie once declined an invitation from Ousainu Darboe to join the UDP,” the party said. “We wish to state unequivocally that this claim is false and entirely misleading.”
The party said upon Seedy’s return from Equatorial Guinea, “following actions and statements that contributed to political tension and nearly plunged the country into instability,” he “actively sought to engage members of the UDP leadership.”
“He made several attempts to secure an audience with Ousainu Darboe under the pretext of ‘national reconciliation.’ These efforts were unsuccessful.”
UDP says Njie pivoted after Darboe rejected him. “Subsequently, Seedy Njie turned his attention to President Adama Barrow, where he played a key role in fostering division and mistrust between political leaders.”
The party cited Barrow himself as proof. “President Barrow publicly acknowledged at a political rally that Seedy Njie, alongside Fabakary Tombong Jatta, approached him and proposed political arrangements that ultimately undermined prior commitments made to the Gambian people, particularly those relating to the coalition government.”
