By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
The Chairman of the Brikama Area Council, Yankuba Darboe, has reportedly rejected the councillorship of Baboucarr Sambou, who was nominated by the youths of West Coast Region, over supposed fears he would oppose his ideas and plans.
The chairman is reportedly ready to impose another young person, believed to be a United Democratic Party supporter in the position, or the youth risk losing representation in the council.
Yesterday, July 24, several youth leaders in the region expressed their concerns and worries regarding the whole process when a group of young people paid a courtesy call to the chairman’s office and informed him of their plans to organize a youth summer camp.
According to one of them, Chairman Darboe emphatically told them that if they (the youths) do not accept the person he wants to nominate, then the young people of the region will not have a youth rep in the Brikama Area Council.
According to one of the youth leaders who was in the meeting at the chairman’s office, the chairman has made up his mind and will not engage the youth leaders over the issue.
“After he has failed in his efforts to impose his candidate for us to accept, he angrily went on to say that he doesn’t need any youth rep at the council. He asserted that there is no need to engage him in the subject because he had made up his mind,” an insider revealed to The Fatu Network.
This medium reached out to the chairman of the West Coast Region Youth Committee, Lamin Sanneh for further inquiry and he confirmed that indeed, there is a disagreement between Chairman Yankuba Darboe and the youths of the West Coast over youth representation in the council.
However, he said he could not delve more into it for now because they are still in discussion with Yankuba Darboe and will inform the media about the outcome after their next engagement.
Efforts were made to reach out to Yankuba Darboe, but as has always been the case for TFN with him, he could not be reached on the phone.
The Fatu Network understands that the youth leaders in the region are planning to stir up an uproar over the issue. Some believe that the person Yankuba Darboe wants to nominate is an Executive Member of the United Democratic Party. However, this medium could neither establish the veracity nor the identity of the person at the time of writing.
The rejected nominated youth rep, Baboucarr Sambou, is a lecturer at the Gambia College. He was nominated out of the 41 young people who applied for the position. His rejection was said to have been because Yankuba Darboe believed that Sambou will not support his agenda.
Baboucarr Sambou could not be reached for comments. The Fatu Network will continue to make follow-ups on the issue.
