Gambians have abandoned opposition, says APRC national mobiliser
By Gambian Correspondent – The National Mobiliser of the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), Yankuba Colley, is the latest to join the debate by politicians ahead of the scheduled presidential, parliamentary and local government elections.
Yankuba Colley, the National Mobiliser of the ruling APRC party
Colley who is also the Mayor of the Kanifing Municipality spoke in an interview with this reporter yesterday on a wide range of issues, and said it is quite clear that Gambians have rejected and abandoned the opposition camp in the country in totality.
“It is right open in everyone’s eyes that the opposition cannot contest against the ruling APRC, and that they are dormant with no party structures and organs. The Gambian people don’t like them, and they have rejected and abandoned them.
“The APRC is an organized party with structures anywhere you go, and it is not a party that is looking for positions. We have been there for the people since the onset unlike those who only visit the people during elections,” he said, adding that the APRC is always there for the people, whether elections or not.
According to the APRC national mobiliser, there are clear indications that the APRC will sweep the November presidential polls, attributing this to what he said is the unparalleled development brought by the APRC regime to the doorsteps of Gambians in the past 17 years.
Colley, who just returned from a countrywide tour, said districts, constituencies and even wards are competing with one another on who will vote more for President Yahya Jammeh.
Opposition not an agenda, but Gambians
Colley further told this reporter that the opposition in the country is not an agenda for the APRC, noting that the only agenda for the APRC is the Gambian people, and how they can develop The Gambia for Gambians.
Response to Hamat Bah’s comments
Responding to comments made by veteran politician Hamat Bah of the NRP, that the APRC will have its greatest surprise come the 24th November polls, Colley said Hamat should first think about how to regain his lost seat in Upper Saloum.
“We all know that he can never get that seat again, much less of challenging President Jammeh,” he said, adding that for the APRC, Hamat is a minus.
Yankuba Colley added that the country has witnessed tremendous achievements in terms of development and progress which, he added, clearly demonstrates that the APRC will win the presidential, National Assembly and local government elections massively.
Re-echoing President Jammeh’s pronouncement that he will not campaign in this year’s election, the APRC national mobiliser said his just-concluded nationwide tour was a source of inspiration for the people.
“They (the people) said the President should sit at State House; no need for him to campaign. They will campaign for him to win overwhelmingly,” Colley declared.
In his view, even if all the opposition parties in the country come together and form an alliance, they will never pose any threat to the ruling APRC.
“The opposition will never pose a threat to us. Whether they come together or split, the APRC stands the same. Our majority will never change; in fact we are not talking of winning but about percentages,” he said, adding that winning is a foregone conclusion for the APRC.
Happy about Gomez’s statement, but…
The APRC national mobiliser further told this reporter that he was happy about the comments made by Henry Gomez, leader of the Gambia Party for Democracy and Progress that Ousainou Darboe, Hamat Bah and Halifa Sallah should give chance to new and emerging breed of young politicians, as they pose no threat to President Jammeh.
However, he noted that whether the opposition has a new or old breed of leaders, they will not win the elections.
“Gambians are not fools. How can you sit until the last minute and tell people to vote for you. They will only vote for those who have their concerns at heart, and this is no other than President Jammeh,” he concluded.
