By Buba Gagigo
Five National Assembly Members from Foni have on Wednesday, March 8th, 2023, met with president Adama Barrow at state house to discuss what Hon. Bakary k Badjie, the National Assembly Member for Foni Bintang called matters affecting the Foni region.
“The purpose of the meeting was to inquire about the petition we gave them. Last time we held a press conference, so we wanted to know the state of our petition. Whether he is concerned. Whether he will implement it, and whether he has seen it or not. We are not people who are used to demonstrations. We are people that are used to negotiation. If all avenues are exhausted, then we can think of other things. But we prefer negotiation to violence because that’s what Yahya Jammeh always advises us,” he told Kerr Fatou.
Asked what was president Adama Barrow’s response to them during the meeting, Hon. Bakary k Badjie said the president acknowledged receipt of their petition and promised to act on it but didn’t commit to any timeframe.
“He (President Barrow) said he has seen it (the petition) and it is with the ministry of Justice, and the ministry of Justice is working on the matter. He said he is going to work on it, especially the checkpoint in Bwiam. He said it is a concern for him, and he is going to see whether they can relocate those soldiers. Furthermore, he also said if the people of Foni are not farming, that is a concern for him. He didn’t give us a timeframe, but we told him we are waiting for his response. We only discussed matters relating to Foni with him and nothing else,” the Foni Bintang National Assembly Member told Kerr Fatou.
This meeting follows a petition from these five members of the National Assembly to the government of the Gambia asking for the withdrawal of the Senegalese contingent of ECOMIG Forces from Foni.