The United Democratic Party (UDP) Secretary General and Party Leader, lawyer Ousainou Darboe, revealed that both Chairman Yankuba Darboe and Banjul Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe have expressed sorrow for some recent remarks they made in public.
“The two officials now wish they had never made such remarks,” Darboe stated on Coffee Time with Peter Gomez.
“I have a great relationship with Rohey Malick Lowe. I am aware of the statement she made, and she has expressed regret for it. She wished that she had never said that. I’m not here to tell you that this is what I do or have done when Peter complained to me. That, in my opinion, is not the proper course of action. If nothing is done, it will be evident in the way the person has been acting and complaining ever since. It is irrelevant for me to come here and state that this is what I have with this specific issue or that this is what I have done with that issue. I’m certain that Yankuba has likely felt regret and wished he hadn’t uttered such words,” Darboe remarked.
Darboe added that he has discreetly settled a number of delicate issues with UDP members, including those that have nothing to do with the party.
“I’ve dealt with a variety of situations, including some really delicate ones. Some of my party members say things about other organizations and persons, not only the UDP, and I have responded to them in ways that I believe work better. First of all, I told them all that you are leaders in waiting; you want to be president of the Gambian people and leaders of the Gambian people, not just leaders of the United Democratic Party. Your words, deeds, and statements must thus be ones that bring people together. You’re saying something disparaging about Christians, something disparaging about Muslims, and nothing disparaging about any tribe. After all, you will be in charge of all those individuals if you are elected leader of the United Democratic Party. He remarked, “You must be somewhat of a father figure.”
Yankuba Darboe brushed off the question of whether he prefers or interacts with Kanifing Mayor Talib Bensouda more than Darboe. “I give them all the credit they deserve; I have never declined an invitation from any of them. “I’ve always attended their events,” he said.
“I don’t invite anybody to my home, you come on your own,” Darboe explained when asked if he brings Talib over more frequently. In his role as the chairman of the organizing secretary, Talib hasn’t visited my house more than Yankuba, but I have interacted with him more. There is nothing I can do. I have to collaborate with whoever holds that office. I can’t be forced to do anything. I can’t get rid of Talib since Congress elected him. Congress chooses Yankuba to serve as the unit’s deputy chair for media and communication. I therefore deal with issues related to the media. As the second deputy vice president, Rohey handles issues pertaining to the party’s presidency.
Darboe stressed that the functions and obligations of each elected member of the UDP’s executive body firmly govern his working relationships with all party officials.
Therefore, I collaborate with every executive member in the capacity for which Congress elects you, and I am unable to fire anyone. Should it be necessary, a central committee meeting must be held to determine that not even the executive is capable of doing so.
