Barrow Advised To Be Role Model After Threatening To Eradicate UDP

Ousainu Darboe, UDP leader and Adama Barrow, NPP leader

By Buba Gagigo

The United Democratic Party leader has advised President Barrow to be a role model and desist from making comments that would create problems in the country.

Ousainu ANM Darboe made the comments on Sunday at a rally in Farafenni in the North Bank Region; following Barrow’s comment that he would eradicate the UDP while addressing NPP supporters at a rally in the same settlement last week.

“We have always advised our people not to do any confrontation. However, if you are a President, you should be a role model. You should say things that will bring peace in this country. But you don’t do that, instead you are saying you will eradicate other parties, then you are planning a problem and the problem you are planning will end up on your head,” he advised Barrow. 

Darboe in turn alleged that the president wants to bring ‘problem’ in the country, by his comment to eradicate the United Democratic Party.

“You said you will eradicate a party like the United Democratic Party. That means you want to bring problems to this country. Should we think of giving our votes to someone who wants to bring problems in this country? I believe God will help The Gambia and you will not win this election. You want to bring back despotism, tyranny, dictatorship, that’s why you are saying you will eradicate the United Democratic Party. Because the only way you can do that is to suppress, but if you go through the right way, you cannot kill any party in this country,” Darboe said.

The former foreign minister vowed that his former ally lacks the strength to implement his comment when former president Yahya Jammeh could not succeed in stopping his party

“You don’t have the prayers and ‘baraka’ to eradicate UDP. I will tell you, if you want to eradicate UDP in this country, you will eradicate yourself. Yahya Jammeh tried it. We have all seen his end. But you said you will eradicate UDP ‘Wallahi’, you and your party NPP will be eradicated in this country,” said Lawyer Darboe. 

Darboe who served as Vice President to Barrow further described as ‘factious nonsense’, Barrow’s allegation that the UDP is an ethnic based party.

“You said we (UDP) are tribalists. I will say that is ‘factious nonsense’. You were in the United Democratic Party since 2007 and you were selected to lead. You did not know since that time that the party is tribal until now. If you knew the United Democratic Party is a tribal party and you agreed to be selected and lead the party then you are dishonest,” Darboe responded to the President in Farafenni yesterday.

The incumbent further accused the UDP leader of being behind the ‘3yeard Jotna’ movement that demanded him (Barrow) to step down after three years as per his 2016 campaign promise, an allegation Darboe strongly denied.

Recently, a fact-check by a local media outlet on Monday indicated that there is no publicly available information that links Darboe to the group.