By: Dawda Baldeh
The leader of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), Ousainou Darboe, has branded President Adama Barrow’s frequent statements against the opposition as “childish” and urged him to speak responsibly.
Darboe made these remarks during an interview with Peter Gomez on West Coast Radio’s Coffee Time Show.
He responded to the recent viral statement of President Barrow, who likened opposition parties’ bureaus to ‘Narr Boutique,’ a statement that has been widely criticized among the opposition.
“No businessman has invested a dime in our bureaus; they’re funded by the ordinary UDP membership’s money,” Darboe said.
The UDP leader emphasized that his party does not want people involved in illicit activities to fund their operations, and they are content with what they have.
“We are happy that we are a ‘Narr Shop’ constructed with clean money, not a luxurious building constructed with unclean money where people will sit and discuss how to deceive Gambians,” he added.
Furthermore, Darboe emphasized that President Barrow should behave presidentially.
“We know he is referring to Talib with the ‘Narr’ issue, and they have also started calling him ‘boy Narr.’ That is so immature of the President. He should not make references to a person’s background,” Darboe stressed.
He went on to emphasize that Talib is Gambian, or probably more Gambian, than President Barrow.
Darboe further accused President Barrow of predicting that UDP will end up in Talib’s hands just to divide the membership of UDP.
“Mr. President, you should be very mindful of what you say when you go out there. You are no longer the same estate agent or rent collector that you were. Whatever you say will have an impact on the people, and some may act based on your words,” he noted.
Responding to questions about why UDP didn’t condemn the President’s remarks, Darboe said, “Talib shouldn’t have responded to that because he shouldn’t stoop to the President’s low level. I was expecting someone at a lower level to respond to Barrow, not even Hagi Suwaneh, but others who are at the same level as him.”
For Ousainou Darboe, the President always speaks without making any sense.
