Minister Hamat Bah Warns NPP Alliance Against Defeat, Says Goal Is to Keep Barrow in Office

By Makutu Manneh

Hamat N.K. Bah, the Minister of Lands, Regional Government and Religious Affairs, has urged members of the National People’s Party and its political allies to work to prevent the government from losing power, saying their objective should be to keep President Adama Barrow in office.

Speaking Friday at Ngayen Sanjal in Sabach Sanjal, North Bank Region, during President Barrow’s 2026 Meet the People Tour, Mr. Bah said supporters of the president should spare no effort in securing his continued leadership.

“May God forbid us from becoming a defeated government,” Mr. Bah said. “Those who do not fear such an outcome have never experienced it.”

He urged supporters of the governing coalition to do everything possible to ensure that Mr. Barrow remains president.

Addressing ministers and National Assembly members, Mr. Bah likened the political campaign to working one’s own farmland, telling officials that they were ultimately working to protect their own political interests rather than those of the president alone.

“This is your farmland,” he said. “You are not farming for President Barrow; you are farming for yourselves.”

Mr. Bah also referred to Gambian diplomats who have returned home to support the president, saying they understood that their positions could be affected if Mr. Barrow were no longer in office.

Turning to Sabach Sanjal, Mr. Bah said residents of the area had benefited from the president’s support and should reciprocate.

He said that, as natives of Sabach Sanjal, they would not make further demands of Mr. Barrow, but would instead repay his support “in clear terms.”