Essa Faal’s team have published a 10-point code of conduct that all staff and supporters must obey.

The code of conduct seen by The Fatu Network is asking campaign staff and supporters to avoid confrontation with opponents.

The rule is also asking supporters to refrain from causing a public nuisance or disorderly behaviour that might result in situations of conflict or damage to public or private property.

The rule also asks supporters to avoid insults, verbal or physical altercations and that members who speak at rallies must avoid castigating opponents based on fabrications.

UDP supporters are confident of victory in December amid the party’s unprecedented rally on Saturday.

UDP made a strong statement on Saturday when the party’s supporters descended on Sukuta for UDP’s Diggeh rally.

“We have won already. The number of people who attended the meeting is enough for the victory,” one supporter said.

“I do not go to rallies often but I have never seen such a massive crowd. I felt dizzy,” Alhagie Buwa, also a UDP supporter since 1996 said.

UDP’s Sukuta meeting saw the party explain its five-point agenda to citizens with UDP leader Darboe vowing to start fulfilling the promises two days after the election.

UDP leader Ousainou Darboe has reacted for the first time since UDP’s unprecedented political rally held on Saturday.

UDP supporters storm Sukuta in style on Saturday where they made a big statement of intent ahead of the December presidential election.

Reacting for the first time following the rally, UDP leader Darboe said Sukuta has shown that the Gambian people have made a choice.

Mr Darboe tweeted Sunday: ” I appreciate you all, thank you for making this journey worthwhile. Diggeh/Lahido rally is a success and Sukuta has indeed shown that the Gambian people have made a choice.”

By Reuters

The leader of Guinea’s recent coup told a delegation of West African leaders he was not concerned about new sanctions imposed by the regional bloc to pressure a swift transition to constitutional rule, the junta’s spokesman said on Saturday.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed on Thursday to freeze the financial assets of the junta and their relatives and bar them from travelling in response to the Sept. 5 ouster of President Alpha Conde.

Coup leader Mamady Doumbouya has shrugged off the move, telling high-level ECOWAS envoys that “as soldiers, their work is in Guinea and there is nothing to freeze in their accounts,” junta spokesman Amara Camara said at a briefing.

The comment was made at talks between Doumbouya and the Ivorian and Ghanaian presidents, Alassane Ouattara and Nana Akufo-Addo, who visited Conakry on Friday in an unsuccessful effort to secure Conde’s release.

UDP leader Ousainou Darboe has responded to critics who accused him of changing his name to ‘Abubacarr’.

Critics have charged Mr Darboe is engaged in identity change amid the December presidential election.

But speaking at UDP’s big meeting in Sukuta on Saturday, Mr Darboe fired back: “You came here to show your love to Gambia, your love for UDP and your love for Alhagie Abubacarr Numukunda Baro Ousainou Darboe, Barrister at Law, Senior Counsel whom you know if you go to Nigeria at the court where I took the wig it’s Abubacarr Numukunda Darboe [name] that is written there.

“If you go to WAEC in 1966 when we took our GCE you will find Abubacarr written in the certificate. If you go to Gambia High School register when Mr Forbes was there, the name you will find there is Abubacarr. If you go to St Augustine’s when Fr Cleary was principal, the name in the register is Abubacarr.

“Wollahi, it my father who named me Abubacarr. My mother had a friend whose name is Ousainou and she said she would name me Ousainou. And you know the name that goes viral is the one adopted by women. But if people are worried and think that is the name that will disqualify me from getting nominated, let them go and look into the constitution, let them go to the Elections Act and see what disqualifies one from getting nominated.”

By Reuters

Guinea’s military junta said on Friday it would not bow to regional pressure and allow President Alpha Conde, detained since his overthrow on Sept. 5, to leave the country.

On Friday Ivory Coast’s President, Alassane Ouattara, and Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo paid a one-day visit to Conakry to ask coup leader Mamady Doumbouya, a special forces commander and former French Legionnaire, for Conde’s release.

Ouattara had been hoping to leave Guinea with Conde, a senior regional government official told Reuters.

“The former president is and remains in Guinea. We will not yield to any pressure,” the junta said in a statement read on state TV.

Ouattara told Radio-Télévision Guinéenne (RTG) at Conakry airport before leaving: “I met my brother Alpha Conde, who is doing well. We will remain in contact.”

Akufo-Addo told RTG: “We’ve had a very frank and fraternal meeting with Doumbouya and his collaborators. I think that ECOWAS and Guinea are going to find the best way to move forward together.”

ECOWAS has demanded a return to constitutional rule since the special forces unit seized control of the presidential palace, detained Conde, and declared itself in charge.

The bloc agreed on Thursday to freeze the financial assets of the junta and their relatives and bar them from traveling. The junta has not responded.

President Adama Barrow has said over 200 medical doctors from Cuba have been mobilised and are set to arrive in the country to boost the country’s health sector.

The president made this revelation while laying the foundation stone of the Mankamang Kumda health post on Friday.

The president said: “This is very important and it is part of the national development plan. The health sector is among the five top priorities for government. We are laying this foundation today, it is one of the health centres that we are coming to construct and we have also agreed with the contractors to start work immediately.

“We are doing six health centres, we are doing 18 health posts. We have completed five, we are coming to start 13 countrywide. The health sector is very very important to us but we want the facilities to be very close to the people. We want the people to access health [services].

“This is why we said we should also have ambulances that can make sure the people access health. We have bought 80 ambulances and we have started them distributing them in all the constituencies in The Gambia. But the ambulances are not enough, constructing these health facilities will be closer to the grassroots.

“That is not even enough. Because you cannot have health facilities, you have ambulances and you don’t have doctors. The human resource is important and we have mobilised over 200 medical doctors from Cuba as part of that human resource. Very soon they will arrive in this country. And these are specialists. This time we have a very competent minister who was very selective. This time he went in for specialists and we will make sure all these health facilities will be provided with doctors.”

Mai Fatty has said truth and principle continue to cost him political capital but warned: ‘it matters not’.

The GMC leader said today he is overwhelmed by the ‘remarkable’ public trust Gambians have expressed towards him as he continues to engaged them ahead of the December election.

But on his political capital, Mr Fatty said: “I never made political promises just to pass through. l never lie to you knowingly or intentionally and I always perform my duties without fear, favour or ill-will.

“I never shy away from truth and principle and these two continue to cost me political capital. It matters not. I believe in politics with morality. If you believe that just as me, am your Guy.”

The Police in Jigawa has arrested a 25-old-man for alleged sexual intercourse with a goat in Gwaram Local Government Area of the state.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Jigawa Police Command, ASP Lawan Shiisu, confirmed the arrest in a statement in Dutse on Friday.
Shiisu said the suspect was arrested at about 1 a.m. by the police, who were on patrol in Gwaram town.

He explained that the suspect, a resident of Kunnadi quarters, was arrested by the patrol team while having sex with the goat.

“At about 0100hrs, Police from Gwaram Divisional Headquarters, while on patrol in Gwaram and its environs, arrested one 25-year-old resident of Kunnadi quarters, while having intercourse with a goat,” Shiisu said in the statement.

The spokesman added that investigation into the case was ongoing after which the suspect would be charged to court. (Guardian Nigeria)

President Adama Barrow has presented ambulances to communities in Jimara, Upper River Region.

The president has received praise after securing a massive 80 ambulances as part of a community ambulancing programme.

Speaking during the presentation of ambulances to communities in Jimara constituency on Thursday, the president said: “There has never been community ambulancing in this country. When thought of the idea, we said we will buy ambulances but for the whole country. We bought 80 ambulances. It’s unprecedented in this country for 80 ambulances to all come at once.

“So from Kartong to Koina, all constituencies will have an ambulance. Because a person needs help when sick. When pregnant are to go to the hospital to deliver, you have some who use carts and travel many kilometers.

“But these land cruisers we bought can ply any road however bad. Jimara is big and that is why we are giving two ambulances, one [to be at] Sare Bojo and one [to be at] Bakadaji.”

Guinea junta have been given only six months by the Ecowas heads of state for elections to be held and the country returns to civilian rule.

Ecowas leaders travelled to Guinea on Thursday for talks with Colonel Mamady Doumbouya after he arrested Alpha Conde.

Speaking to reporters in Ghana, Ecowas commission president Jean Claude Kassi Brou said: “Looking now at the political situation and the way forward, the heads of state insisted that the transition must be very short and they even went to the way of clearly stating that the transition shall not last more than six months.”

UTG students chanted ‘enough is enough’ on Friday as they took to streets to demand an end to lecturers and management of the university taking them for a ride.

The protest comes amid UTG management and staff locked in a bitter dispute over the way the UTG should be run. Students have been seriously affected by the crisis as staff have refused to go to work.

During the protest, the students made key demands including reduction of tuition fee, buses, resolution of missing grades and immediate expulsion of all underperforming lecturers.

On the issue of underperforming lecturers getting sacked, the students’ president Ousman Jassey said: “Because we need quality, reception and relevant education.”

UTG students chanted ‘enough is enough’ on Friday as they took to streets to demand an end to lecturers and management of the university taking them for a ride.

“We are pushed to the wall and we were left with no option but to act as paddlers of our own canoe,” students’ leader Ousman Jassey said during the protest at the UTG on MDI.

“We remain very firm and solid on their immediate implementation without any further negotiation. And unless and until these demands are met, we reiterate that we will boycott all lectures,” he added.

UTG management and staff have been at war over the way the UTG should be run including a new governing council and chairman. Staff have since on Monday commenced a sit-down strike and students have gotten caught up in the conflict

During the protest, the students made key demands including reduction of tuition fee, buses, resolution of missing grades and immediate expulsion of all underperforming lecturers.

By XINHUA

Senegalese Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development Abdou Karim Sall pledged on Thursday to advance the African environmental agenda, the Senegalese News Agency reported Thursday.

Addressing the environmental crises linked to climate and biodiversity urgently requires political responses based on consensus in Africa, said Sall, also new chair of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), at the 18th ordinary session of AMCEN via video link.

“The role of AMCEN has also been strengthened to meet the challenges of the continent in a context of economic recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said, calling for implementing the African green recovery program, an initiative to help the continent recover from COVID-19 impacts.

The minister also called on his African counterparts to work in synergy and mobilize resources to realize environmental goals, adding that the AMCEN can play a leading role in promoting regional cooperation for the benefit of the African people.

Senegal will host the second part of the 18th session next year, during which the questions raised in the first part will be addressed, Sall said.

Public Utilities Regulatory Authority PURA has issued a suspension notice to Comium after accusing the GSM operator of failing in its licensing obligations.

In a statement, PURA said its decision to suspend Comium is due to the company’s failure to ‘pay licences and spectrum fees for 2020 and levies for the international gateway for 2021’.

PURA mindful of the impact of the move could have on Gambians said: “In light of the suspension notice served to Comium, PURA does not want to expose Comium subscribers to significant losses in the event Comium does not adhere to the terms of the suspension.”

Comium has until October 1 to respond to the suspension notice.

Students of the University of The Gambia will protest on Friday over the huge crisis that has gripped the university.

The UTG management and staff are at war over demands the latter have made among them a new leadership. The staff have since begun a sit-down strike despite a court order.

With the semester a few weeks away, students have been most affected by the wrangling and have now decided to vent.

The students will stage a protest on Friday, The Fatu Network understands.

Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) started a crucial extraordinary summit here Thursday over the military coup in Guinea.

The summit is the second meeting by leaders of the 15-nation sub-regional bloc since the military coup on September 5.

The leaders will receive a report from the delegation which visited Guinea last Friday to hold discussions with leaders of the military junta.

“The presidents will consider the report of the delegation and take a firm decision on how to apply pressure on the military junta to return Guinea to constitutional rule,” said Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, Chairperson of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, ahead of the summit.

The Presidents of Togo, Niger, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Senegal are in the meeting. Nigeria is represented by its vice president, while the rest of the countries have their foreign ministers attending.

ECOWAS suspended Guinea’s membership from the bloc, urging a quick return to constitutional rule after their virtual meeting on September 8. (XINHUA)

Former APRC Foni Jarrol MP Bory Colley has slammed people peddling the claim people of Foni are balking at the idea of APRC entering into an alliance with NPP.

APRC supporters who are rebelling at the move have been making claims APRC rank-and-file supporters in Foni do not endorse the move.

But speaking during a meeting with APRC elders in KM, former Foni MP Bory Colley said: “The people saying they have gone to Foni and people of Foni have not agreed are not telling the truth.

“Those people listening to them in Foni should use their common sense. Our coalition is of interest to the APRC and Yahya Jammeh.”

The NPP-APRC alliance has sparked anger in opposition and civil society quarters who have accused President Barrow of betraying Gambians.

But Gambians on the other side of the political aisle insist the move is in the best interest of the nation particularly in the area of reconciliation.

Kitabu Fatty has lifted the lid on why he collapsed his president ambition and opted to support Essa Faal.

“PDP as a party we believe and we know that the rightful person to rule this nation and to push us to the next level is Essa Mbye Faal,” the comedian-politician told reporters in Kerr Serign on Thursday.

Kitabu announced Tuesday he was throwing his weight behind Essa Faal who a few weeks ago announced running for president.

“His wealth of experience, indepth knowledge of the law, his personal accomplishments and calm temperament, makes him unique among the competing candidates to steer the affairs of the country,” PDP had said in a statement on Tuesday.

Presidential aspirant Essa Faal has declared he has forgiven all those who have attacked his faith.

Gambians among them former secretary general Momodou Sabally have been relentless in their attack on the lawyer saying he is anti-Islam.

But speaking at a press conference at his house in Kerr Serign on Thursday, Mr Faal said: I would not ordinarily respond to this because this is profound and deep, it is an attack on my faith. But let me tell you: in this country every individual has a right to believe in whatever they want to believe. That is the law of this country, that is what keeps us in peace. That is what ensures that every individual would get want they want.

“But I’m appalled and disappointed by the attack on my faith. I’m a Muslim. There are many branches of Islam, I don’t embrace any tariha (sect). I’m a simple Muslim. I’m not a Mouride, I’m not Ahmadi, I’m not Layen, I’m not the many branches that are there. I am a Muslim. What I believe in is to do my five daily prayers and observe the five fundamental pillars of Islam. I have nothing against the Mouride as I have nothing against the Ahmadis.

“I am a peaceful and tolerant person, I tolerate everybody in the exercise of their belief. I forgive them because that is what my religion teaches me. Islam teaches me to be a charitable person and and forgiving person so I forgive them. So if they attack me in the name of Islam, I forgive them in the name of Islam.”