By Makutu Manneh
Kebba Jallow, a member of the People’s Progressive Party whose group has challenged the leadership of the party’s recognized executive, says his supporters backed the ruling National People’s Party to prevent the PPP from aligning with the United Democratic Party.
The Independent Electoral Commission recognizes the PPP executive led by Madikay Faal, although Jallow disputes its legitimacy and says the matter is before the courts.
Speaking on The Brunch, a weekly Saturday program on Kerr Fatou, Jallow said he has supported President Adama Barrow since 2017 and defended his group’s decision to declare support for the president and the NPP.
Asked why his group had moved to support the ruling party, Jallow said it was intended to prevent the PPP’s name from being used to enter an alliance with the UDP.
“Yes, because what is going to happen is that they would have used the party’s name to join UDP, and a lot of PPP members don’t want to go to UDP, including me,” he said.
Jallow said he subsequently contacted PPP supporters across the country, including in Niumi, Basse and the Kanifing Municipality, and urged them not to allow such an alliance to happen.
He said those consultations ultimately led his group to meet President Barrow and formally declare its support for him.
The dispute over the PPP’s leadership has persisted despite the IEC’s recognition of the executive headed by Faal. Jallow said his group continued to regard itself as the party’s legitimate leadership after the disputed congress, even though it initially remained publicly silent.
Asked whether his executive continued to operate as the PPP leadership after the congress, Jallow said it did, maintaining that his group never accepted the legitimacy of the Faal-led executive.
Jallow said he had attempted to reconcile the two sides, but those efforts did not result in an agreement before the IEC recognized Faal and his executive as the legitimate leadership of the party.
He argued that the commission made the determination without consulting his group.
“This matter is now before the court,” Jallow said.
The Faal-led PPP recently announced Jallow’s expulsion from the party, accusing him of acting unilaterally by declaring support for the NPP. The party said his actions had crossed a “red line.”
Jallow rejected the decision and maintained that the Faal-led executive did not have the authority to expel him while the leadership dispute remained before the courts.
“They cannot expel me; the matter is in court,” he said. “They can write on paper and say ‘expel me,’ but I can also say I don’t recognize their legitimacy, and that will bring more conflict.”
Jallow also said more PPP supporters would soon publicly declare their support for President Barrow, predicting that a “big crowd” of party members would join the president.
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