By: Binta Jaiteh
The UDP’s spokesperson for the North Bank Region, Karamo Njie, has said that the Barrow that the UDP presented to the 2016 Coalition is different from the Barrow of today, averring that President Barrow has grown venomous.
Njie was reacting to a suggestion by the former GAP spokesperson Sheikhna Faal that the UDP should offer apologies to Gambians for putting forward President Barrow to the coalition as a presidential candidate.
“The Barrow we knew yesterday and the Barrow oftoday are incomparable. They can be likened to the sky and the moon. Three candidates from the UDP contested to vie in the 2016 presidential elections but Barrow hid his true colors and has now become poisonous,” Njie argued in an exclusive interview with The Voice.
The UDP’s NBR spokesman explained that the UDP spent a lot of resources and energy on Barrow when the party’s leaders were jailed.
Njie asserted that every Gambian yearned for the exit of Jammeh and a system change because the country was undergoing tough times. This, he added, galvanized the UDP to coalesce with other opposition political parties.
“Unfortunately, Barrow surprisingly betrayed us. Gambians didn’t know him. It was through the UDP that citizens knew about his existence. We fought hard for the restoration of democracy to The Gambia and this is why I am surprised to see Barrow bragging about bringing democracy back to the country,” Njietold this medium.
According to the UDP’s NBR mouthpiece, Barrow cannot silence the UDP.
“Former President Jammeh had junglers and UDP had a great strength at the time. I want Barrow to know that, as a leader, he should utter words that will fosterpeace in the country but not words that will stir violence and hatred,” Njie stated.
“He is playing mind games with the rural people but those in the urban area know him very well. I also blame Gambians. We all know the reason why UDP abandoned Barrow. Barrow’s re-election was due to thehatred that some people harbored against the UDP but today, we are all facing the consequences. The people,who voted for him, regretted their actions. I,personally, will not apologize as we warned Gambians not to re-elect Barrow,” Njie stressed.
He advised the IGP not to allow himself to be cowed by Barrow as the day of reckoning will come since, according to him, the days of Barrow’s government are numbered.
“We will continue to speak for the country and no one will restrain us. Barrow and his party militants continuously insult and throw words at elders. He should be more concerned about the mismanagementof state resources and violations of fundamental human rights under his watch but he decided to turn a blind eye to all those malpractices and instead launched an unwarranted attack on the UDP,” concluded Njie.