Last year, Adama Barrow’s so-called adviser, Dou Sanno went to Dippa Kunda and told the people that he was in possession of bag-loads of fresh-printed money that not even air had touched yet. But such money was waiting for Adama Barrow to form his own party and the dishing spree would continue.
It was a voter-buying spree, rather, and we have been reporting it since. “That kind of politics, I have to say isn’t going to have the day because Gambians are used to this kind of things, and increasingly, they’re feeling entitled to that money because they know that the money doesn’t belong to whoever is giving it out,” stated United Democratic Party’s Spokesperson, Almamy Fanding Taal.
Taal was speaking to forGambia News & Radio in exclusive interview on Saturday, October 24th 2020 in the wake of nominations for the November 7th 2020 by-elections in Niamina West Constituency. The UDP is backing the GDC in the area. We also spoke to GDC’s MC Cham the same day.
“So, we’re quite confident that the GDC candidate will prevail at the end of the day because this seat was their seat and we have given full support to them. The constituency committee is doing everything possible to ensure that GDC is victorious,” Taal went on.
“But that kind of politics should be exposed. We should not have any tolerance for it. Yahya Jammeh had more money than anybody at the time he was defeated. So, this is not something that Gambians have not seen before. We are quite confident that it will have very little impact on the way people are going to vote,” Taal concluded.
Sensitization and monitoring such moves of the NPP is something GDC’s National Youth President, MC Cham Jr. said they have been doing in the area. “The money they give, take it and eat it. We enter where they went and sensitize the people,” Cham mentioned.
He continued that this Niamina West by-election is a referendum for Adama Barrow and his NPP. “This is a referendum for them—Barrow is a betrayer!” Cham went on, adding that the so-called defector from GDC to NPP, Ars Sowe was going around, giving gifts to people as well.
“Ars Sowe was giving them money and mobile phones. But he still lost to Yero Jallow (In the selection stage). He got angry and left the GDC to join NPP,” Cham cleared the air. He posited that Sowe’s departure from the GDC is nothing.