There is no need for Jammeh to campaign - CRR Governor

As the race to the forthcoming Presidential election draws near, Ganyie Touray, Governor of the Central River Region, has said that there is no need for President Yahya Jammeh to go for any campaign as "people will vote massively for him".

"The developments brought to this country by President Jammeh and the APRC party is enough to campaign for him because what the people need is what is being provided by President Jammeh,” Governor Touray said in an interview with our reporter at the weekend.

According to the CRR Governor, Gambians don't need to be shown anything as they have seen it for themselves that President Jammeh "is bringing tremendous developments to their doorsteps".

"I have said this and will continue say it. I don't know what will happen but I can assure you that CRR is very stable politically and the people are ever ready to rally behind the APRC party and its leadership. Come the polls later this year, the APRC will get nothing less than 95% of the total votes," he predicted.

In his view, there is nothing like politics because all what people want, ranging from good roads, to electricity, schools, health care, and  water have been taken care of. "So there is no politics in this. All that the people are waiting for is for the time to come and they would go and do what is expected of them," he added.

Governor Touray said he could not dispute the fact that there is opposition in the country "but there is no credible one that can pose a threat to the ruling APRC".

"The President is not going anywhere. We will handle it at our level and we are going to make sure that all what he wants is done for him. What is he going to campaign for?" he queried, saying: "There is no credible opposition that can challenge President Jammeh and the APRC. Not even an opposition alliance can do that. What we need now are young and dedicated people who will work very hard with the APRC for the development of this country."

He says the idea of an opposition only works in a situation where the ruling party is not doing what is expected of them.

"But when the ruling party is doing all that is expected to be done, whether there is an opposition or not, we don't care. We are going to trash them (the opposition)," he said.

The CRR Governor reiterates his region’s loyalty to President Jammeh: "Here in CRR, we have done it and will continue to do it. The people are fully united behind the APRC and there is no need for me to tell you that. The President will not be here, it is we at the grassroots level who will take charge of the campaign and we will wait for them (the opposition) here."

Governor Touray further stated that the fact that genuine opposition members are moving from the opposition to the ruling APRC is a manifestation of the reality of "the good work" on the ground being done by the APRC.

"We want opposition members who will see and accept the reality and go by it. They must accept that President Jammeh and the APRC party are doing well, and join them to develop this country," he said.