By: Hadram Hydara
The spokesperson of the Yahya Jammeh-recognised faction of the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), Pa Modou Mbowe, has claimed that exiled former Gambian president, Yahya Jammeh, had given Fabakary Tombong Jatta, interim leader of the APRC party at the time, three million and five hundred thousand dalasis (D3,500,000) to contest for the 2017 parliamentary seats.
Mr Mbowe claimed that Fabakary and co requested that amount from Jammeh on the basis that they were going to contest for 53 seats but ended up contesting far fewer seats. According to Mbowe, this is when Jammeh started to lose trust in Fabakary Tombong Jatta.
“You can trust me and I end up betraying you. This is exactly the case with Fabakary and President Jammeh. President Jammeh trusted Fabakary up to the time he adamantly refused to take his calls because of 3.5 million. The trust was all the way up there because he gave them 3.5 million for the National Assembly elections in 2017 for 53 seats; that is what they requested but they contested only 16 seats. So, obviously, there are 37 seats that need to be explained.
Where did you put the money? How did you spend my money? He had the right to ask Fabakary that and that question, up to today, is still not answered. So what do you expect? So that is where he started to break his trust; so the trust was broken by Fabakary, not by Yahya Jammeh because Yahya Jammeh is not here,” Mbowe said.
Speaking on the likelihood of either faction doing a revamp with a name and flag change instead of both carrying the APRC name and using its paraphernalia, the PRO challenged Fabakary and his camp to form their own party.
“We don’t have to change name, the people who went to NPP can change their name. They can even have their own political party if they are that famous; if they know that they are in control, let them have their own party. Well, Mamma Kandeh did. The late Sheriff Mustapha Dibba did with President Jawara. When they had the feud, he went and formed his NCP, GPP as well with Assan Musa Camara. Go and build your own party, you don’t have to use somebody’s details.
Go and create your own party. You are famous, you are a leader; you are dynamic, and you got the people behind you, go and join NPP for God’s sake and leave us alone,” he said.
He added that President Barrow’s National People’s Party (NPP) does not need the Fabakary-led APRC faction anymore, saying the only person they need is Fabakary “to reward him for what he did in 2017”.
