The United Democratic Party has taken another big supporter of the National People’s Party a week after grabbing the party’s national women mobiliser Ramou Sabally.
The latest catch of the Yellow Camp is Pa Manneh, a former strong supporter of President Adama Barrow, who was officially presented to the UDP leader yesterday a week after leaving the NPP.
Officially announcing his decision to quit the NPP, Mr Manneh said he left the NPP because President Barrow is not competent enough to lead the Gambia.
“In my opinion, he is incompetent and the people he trusts are incompetent and do not have the country at heart. So, if they cannot do the job, this country must not sink. This is why I decided to leave and join the UDP, which has a very progressive leader,” Manneh said.
The former councilor for Brikama Nyambai Ward said the people he sees around Barrow “don’t have the national interest at heart and secondly they are incompetent and do not even have a clue. They cannot run this country. This is why even the country’s civil service is destroyed”.
Welcoming him to UDP, leader Ousainu Darboe said the news of Mr Manneh joining the UDP is a big morale booster for the party and its chances of winning the December election.
Turning to President Barrow, the UDP leader said he wanted the best for his ‘son’.
He recalled a meeting he had with the president in 2018 where he advised him to be mindful of certain people around him.
“Everyone wants Adama to have a good legacy in this country. The reason why we want it is that people tell us that it’s you, the UDP people who gave us Adama. So if Adama’s legacy is good, it’s the UDP that will brag about it, as they will say he is our son,” he said.
Darboe said on November 5, 2018, he had a meeting with Barrow and “there was speculation by then but anything he says during the meeting I would tell him to be mindful of a particular person. I told him what those people are telling him is not taking him anywhere”.
“I wanted to make him a great leader who could win the Mo Ibrahim award but he did not give me a chance. Today, UDP members say he is my son and I don’t want anything bad to be said about him. Well, he is my son since he has not said I am no longer his father,” Darboe joked.
