By Lamin Njie
Foday Gassama on Monday said he takes President Adama Barrow’s decision to name him as a member of the national assembly in good faith.
President Barrow on Monday announced he was replacing Ya Kumba Jaiteh with Foday Gassama.
Mr Gassama had served as a regional youth coordinator for the United Democratic Party for West Coast Region.
Gassama, reacting to his picking, told The Fatu Network: “The 1997 constitution gives the president the prerogative to nominate or denominate a national assembly.
“So in exercise of that power, he decided to appoint me as new member of the national assembly of the republic of The Gambia. So I really appreciate and I take it in good faith.”
Gassama’s nomination comes as opinion remains bitterly split over whether the president has the power to fire a member of the national assembly.
President Barrow last week swung to action and sacked Ya Kumba Jaiteh as a member of the national assembly.
The constitution allows the president to nominate five people to the national assembly and Ms Jaiteh was among five people who were handpicked in 2017 by President Barrow to be members of the national assembly.
But the president’s decision to sack her has prompted controversy.
