‘Our Sponsors are Businessmen and Gambians In the Diaspora’- Operation Five Years
Ebrima Sorrie Bah, Secretary General of ‘Gambia for Five Years’, has brandished claims that President Adama Barrow is the one behind the financing of the group’s activities, disclosing that businessmen and Gambians in the diaspora are the ones responsible for the financing of the activities of ‘Gambia for Five Years’, formally ‘Barrow for Five Years.
The source of financing for the activities of the pro-Barrow group has come under public scrutiny, igniting perceptions that President Adama Barrow is the chief patron behind the group. However, officials at a press conference hosted at a local hotel in Banjul denied the allegations branding them as false.
These denials come on the heels of a planned protest scheduled to take place on January 12th by the group. ‘Gambia For Five Years’ are in support of President Adama Barrow holding the presidency for a full five years, as opposed to ‘Three Years Jotna’, a rival group that is calling on President Adama Barrow to hand over power by January 19th as agreed by Coalition 2016.
“What I want to make crystal is that ‘Gambia for Five Years’ has nothing to do with the President of the Republic. We have nothing to do with the President and our source of funding has been made constantly clear to you the press. The people sponsoring us are completely out of the government, they are independent people either Gambians in the diaspora or businessmen or people who are into other engagements,” said SG Ebrima Sorrie Bah.
According to Bah, donors who are behind the financing of ‘Gambia for Five Years’ want to remain anonymous, disclosing that these are Gambians who believe in their cause and are ready to sponsor them without any conditions attached.
Drawing his daggers at ‘Three Years Jotna’, the ‘Gambia for Five Years’ scribbler alleged that the activities of ‘Three Years Jotna’ and its crones are threatening the constitution of the country, arguing that ‘Three Years Jotna’ are calling for the forceful stepping down of the President who has the constitutional mandate to rule for five years.
“Three Years Jotna are threatening to remove the President, you heard them say they are coming out on the 20th to make sure that they oust the President through forceful means. They said when they go out, they will not go back home until the President resigns, is that not going to interfere with our businesses and economy? They say they are going to make sure that the President leaves power by force,” Ebrima Sorrie Bah alleged at the presser.
According to him, the negative impact ‘Three Years Jotna’ would have on the economy of the country would be huge, revealing that the tourism industry is already “on its knees” due to their first round of protesting.
“We are in the peak of the tourists’ season, go to the tourism industry and look at the hotels, it is completely paralyzed. Go to the four- and five-star hotels and see, you can count the tourists you will find there. The tourists are not coming to The Gambia this year because this country is at stake and we have no idea what is going to happen on the 20th of January when these people embark on their mission,” Ebrima Sorrie Bah observed.
