By Buba Gagigo
The leader of the Citizens’ Alliance (CA) has confessed to facilitating from NPP, a vehicle for the Citizens’ Alliance West Coast Region coordinator and Chairman interested to campaign for the party in the 2021 presidential election.
“Yes, I facilitated for a vehicle to be given to the West Coast Region coordinator and Chairman because they wanted to campaign for NPP and CA had said that anybody can go and campaign for wherever you want to campaign. As party leader, I cannot campaign but I can facilitate,” Dr. Ismaila Ceesay said during his party’s virtual town hall conference on Sunday, following an allegation that he received vehicles from the NPP for the 2021 Presidential election campaign.
The CA leader does not regret the move and expressed the will to repeat it, when given the opportunity saying, “I was protecting the interest of CA”.
“And I would do it again today, if I have the opportunity because I thought at the time I was protecting the interest of CA because the party was facing an existential threat from a particular political party,” he said.
Dr Ismaila Ceesay clarified that he met the President in a private capacity, not as the leader of the Citizens’ Alliance party.
“The President wanted to see me in a private capacity. I approached Dominic (the CA National President) and said ‘what’s your advice, Mr. Chairman? The President wants to see me’. He said, “well, it’s okay. You can go whenever you are called. I didn’t see any need to inform the entire executive”, because at the time the entire executive was not even speaking in one voice. I don’t know what I was going to find there. So I went,” Dr. Ceesay explained.
During the meeting with President Barrow when the issue of endorsement came up, Ceesay said he told the President: “The issue of endorsement came up, officially we cannot. I can’t support, but I can facilitate because we have guys in the West Coast Region who are dying to campaign for you. I can facilitate for them to support you.”
Dr Ceesay said when the vehicle issue came up on the CA WhatsApp group; the recipients of the vehicle came out to say they were campaigning for NPP and it has nothing to do with him (Dr. Ceesay).
He continued that, those whom he facilitated the vehicle to campaign for the NPP said the vehicles were three, but one was given to the North Bank Region Chairman, and one to the Central River Region Chairman.
Dr. Ceesay urged people to verify the claim from the Chairman of the North Bank Region and the Central River Region whom he said are adult and “won’t lie” in their responses on the matter.
Dominic Mendy, former National President of the Citizens’ Alliance (CA) in a recent interview with Kerr Fatou alleged that Dr. Ismaila Ceesay has confessed to him receiving vehicles from President Barrow’s National People’s Party (NPP), prior to the 2021 presidential election.
Mendy added that the CA National executive discussed and decided to verbally reprimand Ceesay and warned him not to repeat the act.
In response to the allegation in a tweet, Ceesay said: “Unfortunately I don’t and won’t respond to lunatics and their loads of rubbish.”