By Buba Gagigo
The spokesperson for the five National Assembly Members (NAMs) representing Foni, Hon. Almameh Gibba, has clarified that the assembly members were not consulted by Hon. Bakary Badjie regarding his plans to run for president in the 2026 elections.
Hon. Bakary K. Badjie, the National Assembly Member for Foni Bintang Constituency, recently announced his intention to contest in The Gambia’s 2026 presidential election. In his announcement last Tuesday, Hon. Badjie highlighted the concerns of Gambians, particularly the challenges faced by the nation’s youth, as well as the urgent need for transformative leadership as key motivations behind his decision.However, Hon. Gibba expressed that the Foni National Assembly members were unaware of Badjie’s plans.
“I want to clarify that we were not consulted by honorable Bakary Badjie, we saw on social media like everyone. Bakary did not consult any of the National Assembly members from Foni. I swear if he had consulted us, we would have given him the right advice,” Hon. Gibba said.
He further noted that the National Executive, both locally and in the diaspora, was also not informed beforehand, and that the announcement came as a surprise.
“I have informed our National Executive too, that we were not consulted, we had no idea but some of the people outside knew about it, they informed us about it but thought it was a joke until we saw it on social media. We got to believe the news when we saw him taking to Social media, the National Executives both here and the diaspora have confirmed that they were not consulted by Bakary,” Gibba added.
Hon. Gibba also challenged anyone with evidence of the assembly members’ involvement in Badjie’s presidential campaign to come forward. “I also want to challenge anybody who has evidence that we part of it to bring it forward. We are not part of it, and we will never be part of it,” he affirmed.
Hon. Bakary Badjie is currently serving his first term as a National Assembly Member for Foni Bintang Constituency.