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Darboe assures Foni will never be isolated under UDP gov’t

May 24, 2021, 12:25 PM | Article By: Adama Tine

Addressing hundreds of people from all the five districts of Foni, who came to shift their allegiance to the UDP at the party’s Manjai Bureau on Saturday, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, the party leader assured that: “A UDP government will treat all Gambians equally irrespective of tribe or political affiliation and Foni will not and cannot be an exception.”

As far as, I am concerned, there cannot be a Gambia without Foni,” he noted.

The visiting now UDP militants were mobilised by the UDP Wisconsin Chapter headed by Lamin Keita, a Gambian PhD Fellow at the NorthWestern University in U.S.

“A UDP government will focus on Foni not for political reasons but because you are part of The Gambia. We will not use Foni as a political tool and this is not going to be empty promises just to get your votes. I can assure you,” Mr. Darboe further assured.
Foni is a stronghold of former President Yahya Jammeh and since the former strongman was ousted, the region has struggled to accept the change.
But the former vice president insisted that Foni is part and parcel of the country, deserving equal treatment from any leader.

“If I say Foni, I am referring to all the tribes living in Foni. However, I want to emphasise that you cannot have a Gambia without Foni. That is not possible. We are all equal in this country. So anyone who comes to Foni try to divide you based on tribal politics, don’t entertain it, tell them you are going to follow and vote for the person who can transform this country and not based on the fact that person is from Foni or a Jola,” he said

The former Foreign Affairs Minister said the UDP has always contested elections in Foni and has never had the impression that the political support in the area is one sided.

He expressed gratitude to the party’s Wisconsin Chapter and urged them to keep up the momentum ahead of December.

Lamin Keita, the UDP’s Wisconsin Chapter chairperson, who led the whole process, said the party’s Wisconsin Chapter is coordinating with the party supporters in all the five districts in Foni to help them sensitise people to get more involved in politics and to support the party.

“We believe that Foni is very essential in this coming election because people believe that Foni is a no go area for the UDP. So our role is to ensure that we made them understand that the UDP is not an enemy to any district or region in this country and Foni cannot be an exception,” he said.