NDP Leader Urges Basse Residents to Vote Out Barrow Over Alleged Farmland Takeover Plans

By Makutu Manneh

Kebba Madi Bojang, leader of the National Democratic Party (NDP), has urged residents of Basse to vote against President Adama Barrow in the December 5 presidential election, alleging that the government plans to convert agricultural lands in the area into state reserves.

Speaking at a political gathering in Basse, Bojang accused the Barrow administration of pursuing a land acquisition policy that he claimed had already deprived communities in Kombo of their ancestral farmlands and was now being extended to the Upper River Region.

He alleged that the government was acquiring privately owned land for relatively small sums under the guise of social security payments and public development projects, only for the properties to ultimately benefit private individuals.

“But these reserved lands would eventually benefit a single individual after being taken from the owners,” Bojang said.

The NDP leader warned that the alleged land acquisitions could have devastating consequences for farming communities, threatening their livelihoods and deepening poverty among future generations.

He claimed that the process had already begun in Basse and cautioned that, unless the government was voted out of office, residents risked losing more of their agricultural land.

Bojang pointed to similar land disputes in Kombo, claiming that several cases involving government land acquisitions were currently before the courts. He alleged that the administration intended to replicate the same approach in Basse.

Framing the December election as an opportunity for residents to protect their land rights, Bojang urged voters to use the ballot box to resist what he described as an unjust policy.

He argued that while citizens might lack the means to physically challenge the government, they retained the power to hold it accountable through their votes.

Bojang expressed confidence that residents of Basse were increasingly aware of the alleged threat to their farmlands and would use the upcoming presidential election to demand political change.

The allegations concerning the government’s land acquisition plans and the status of the purported court cases could not be independently verified from the information provided.