By Buba Gagigo
Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, Secretary General and Party Leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), has challenged the government to produce documents showing that he applied for land for himself and his family.
Darboe also dismissed President Adama Barrow’s claims that he had sought land favors after being dismissed from his ministerial position as misleading.
“He is misleading the people, and he is also misleading the people when he said I sent somebody to him. I have a lot of pride. The acrimony, the hostility that happened between me and Barrow, I will not stand that low and beg for any favors from him. I will not do that, and he knows that statement is misleading. He just wants to justify the unjustifiable. I think he should really take his time if he wants to respond to me and listen to the audio carefully because I am very careful with my utterances. This is because I don’t want to make statements that I find very difficult to explain or justify,” Darboe said.
The UDP leader asserted that neither his wife nor his daughter applied for land while he was in office, whether as a minister or Vice President.
“Applications for land are always documented. I asked them to produce the applications because I was sent an article from a media outlet saying that I made five applications. One for myself, two of my daughters, my brother-in-law and my wife. What I am saying is that all applications are documented, so I asked the insider in the ministry to produce the applications where I applied for them,” Darboe said.
Darboe also challenged the government to release any applications made during his tenure as Vice President.
“That’s why in Spain I said, let the matter be investigated, and if my wife or my daughter is found to have acquired these lands improperly, I will tell them to surrender them. I said that because I know my stand on corruption, I also know my stand on misuse and abuse of office. Throughout my life, since I returned from studies, I have tried to live a life of rectitude. I have tried to live a life that my children and grandchildren can be proud of.
“In fact, one of the early rallies in Brikama which was organized by Lamin Jatta (then UDP). I addressed the rally, and Lamin, Dembo were present. I told them that those of us who are close to Barrow should make sure that we conduct ourselves with manners that do not taint him as a corrupt person. I said that because I had information that there were people going to the airport to meet passengers in transit. I told them there is already a Janneh commission, and there will be other commissions set up, and you do not want to appear before those commissions,” Darboe explained.
The Secretary General of the UDP said he still maintains his position against corruption.
“That’s why today I talk freely about the corruption that has been going on in the government because I have not been involved in any corrupt practices, and I have not been involved in anything unethical. But this is simple, let them just bring out the documents that I have applied for land. They also said my brother-in-law, I don’t know which brother-in-law they are talking about because Aunty Mai’s all have their properties, and Sally too. So let them bring out the applications that will settle the matter rather than making statements for cheap political popularity,” he said.
When asked about the difference between the land allocation for President Adama Barrow and the lands allocated to his daughter and wife, Darboe said, “My family was allocated in a state layout, and they could have been refused, but the one that Barrow took is an asset of the government of the Gambia. It is just like taking a government vehicle and making it your own. That’s a government asset, not a layout. I know ministers have been allocated land, but I have not said anything about it because they are layouts and those lands are not government assets. I will not allow anybody to drown that issue, which is based on their lack of understanding of what the issue is.”