COURTESY OF THE DAILY OBSERVER
BY-ELECTION
Bakary Jarju's Jasobo exposé
The two Kiang East candidates for this week's by-elections and their various campaign teams are criss - crossing the Eastern Kiang province, canvassing votes in their bid to succeed the late Buba Samura. Addressing hundreds of supporters at a rally at Jasobo last Monday, the UDP candidate, Bakary Jarju, narrated how the APRC national mobiliser, Yankuba Touray, local government secretary Nai Ceesay and Banta Camara, the APRC divisional chairman for the Upper River Division called on him at his home in Masembe, asking him to withdraw his candidature.
"They came to my house, requesting me to withdraw from the contest and promised to reinstate me as principal debt collector at the Kanifing Municipal Council. They also pledged to pay me the salary of a National Assembly Member for nine months." He revealed. Mr Jarju pointed out that during the said discussion, the local government SoS Nai Ceesay, told him that his termination was a "mistake" that would be properly redressed with the authorities at KMC upon their return to Banjul and would awarded him D500,000 reward. Mr Jarju said he did not respond to the three officials, instead gave orders for them to leave his house.
He hailed the people of Jasobo for the support given to him and the UDP as a whole. At another rally at Jomair later the same day, the National Assembly Member for Kiang West, Omar Kebba Mass warned voters not to sell their votes to the APRC,saying the party lacks support in the whole of Kiang. He cautioned the Kiang East electorate to avoid being carried away by what he referred to as "unfounded" claims by the APRC. Mr Mass said farmers are the most hard hit by the incompetence of the Jammeh administration, in that groundnuts are still at seccos, unpurchased.
Bakary Camara, a former member of the defunct July 22nd Movement asked the people of Jasobo and Kolior not to allow APRC delegates to visit their houses at night, as it is one of their strategies to lobby support for their party. He said President Jammeh has marginalised the youth of the country and that the APRC will never fulfill its promises to the people. A third rally for the day was held at Kolior, home of the late Buba Samura, where the UDP was promised 100% support. Other speakers at the rallies were Lang Sanneh, the UDP chairman of Jasobo, Babanding Fatty, Kaiaf, Demba Saho, Jomair and many other UDP militants.
APRC at Salikenni
As campaigns for the incumbent by-elections heighten, the APRC national mobiliser, Tourism secretary Yankuba Touray, has called on the people of Baddibu to do away with "hypocritical and aggressive" politics, argueing that being in the opposition does not warrant one to resort to lies and insults against opponents. SoS Touray said opposition is natural in any democratic and social set up, but that the crusade can only become respectable if based on genuine and constructive terms. He said the Almighty God, being the creator of the whole universe has His own opposing elements and that a case against a government for that matter, would not be strange.
SoS Touray said the UDP is not the party for the people of Baddibu, adding that the party's leader, Ousainou Darboe, was himself defeated by President Jammeh, in his own constituency, Sami, in the September 1996 presidential polls. He called on the people of Salikenni especially women and youth, to collaborate with the APRC in its efforts to improve their living standards. "When President Jammeh came to power in 1994, he said one of his priorities was to develop Baddibu, because it was the least developed region in the country." he said. He condemned the UDP's attitude towards the death of the late Buba Samura and Abdou Karamba Kassama, accusing the party's leadership of politicising the whole affair.
He said the government was fully considerate of the services rendered to the country by the two late members of the National Assembly during their terms in office, adding that the vice president, secretaries of state and other senior officials were present at the funerals which he said showed the government's respect for the deceased members. "At Abdou Karamba Kassama's funeral, the government gave D21,000.00 to his family, President Jammeh promised to sponsor his children through the Jammeh Foundation and the government was ready to offer a permanent residence to his family, but everything was rejected for political reasons.
He accused UDP leader Ousainou Darboe and the minority leader, Kemesseng Jammeh of undermining government's efforts to support the Samura and Kassama families. SoS Touray reminded his fellow Baddibunkas about the development projects executed in their area and the negligence they were subjected to during the PPP era for being an NCP stronghold. Speaking earlier, Baba Jobe, an assistant secretary at the President's Office and a towering figure in APRC politics urged the central Baddibu electorate to vote Sekou Saho in for a continuation of the development process in the entire Baddibu under the leadership of President Jammeh. Other speakers included Sekou Satou Saho, the APRC aspiring candidate and several more of his supporters. The rally was attended by hundreds of APRC supporters and militants .
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