The Secretary General of The Gambia Action Party (GAP) Musa Yali Batchilly has debunked reports suggesting that the former Secretary General and Presidential Affairs Minister Dr. Njogu Bah, owns the newly formed GAP political party. “I own over eighty percent of GAP. The remaining share is owned by a close friend of mine. I cannot reveal his name. He doesn’t want to be named. Njogu Bah, hasn’t spent a butut in the registration of the GAP party,” Batchilly told Freedom Newspaper in a phone conversation on Tuesday.
Batchilly’s GAP party recently named General Lamin Bojang, as the party’s flag bearer in the 2021 elections. Bojang is a former Army Officer. He is the Deputy Ambassador at The Gambian Embassy in Russia.
According to Batchilly, when he and others conceived the idea of setting up a political party, Dr. Njogu Bah, was among the six or seven people, who signed a paperwork to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to register the party. He says almost all the folks, who signed that paperwork had left the party now.
“The party is being managed by me and few others. Ousman Sowe and co have since left. Sowe and I used to be with the GDC party. If anyone tells you that Dr. Njogu Bah owns the GAP party is a lie. I financed over eighty percent of the GAP registration,” he remarked.
Batchilly says he is of the belief that his party is being targeted for smear campaign by folks, who are afraid of its increasing popularity. He adds that GAP’s focus is to win the next elections and run a democratic and transparent Gambia.
“Njogu Bah’s contribution to the party was during its registration with the IEC. He was the one, who helped us to gather signatures from the North Bank Region. He also contributed D5,000 dalasis during the scribbling of our party’s constitution. We were charged by a D20,000 dalasi by a Gambian for him to write a constitution for us. Out of that D20,000 dalasis, I contributed D15,000 dalasis, while Njogu Bah paid the D5,000 dalasis,” Batchilly remarked.
“The person we paid to write a constitution for us, did not do a good job. We had to let him go and hire another person. I was the one, who paid the second guy, who helped to write the constitution for us,” he added.
Batchilly is the Secretary General of the GAP Party. He said one of the reasons, why they didn’t select Njogu Bah, as the party’s flag bearer or leader, was due to Bah’s pending appearance before the Janneh Commission. Bah was recently indicted by the Commission for corruption and abuse office. He was among the former Jammeh government official banned from holding public office for the rest of their lives. Bah was also ordered to pay restitution to the state; failure of which, he risked having his assets seized by the state.
Commenting on his party’s recent selection of General Lamin Bojang, as its flag bearer in the upcoming Presidential polls, Batchilly said the decision was unanimously welcomed by the party’s leadership. He said Bojang had met all the requirements to represent the party in the coming elections.
“Lamin Bojang is a perfect gentleman. I know him. I sincerely believe that he is going to deliver the party and The Gambia to the promised land. His selection was approved virtually by all my colleagues at the party. The GAP party has not been sold. That’s a lie. Lamin was selected through a democratic process,” he said.
Written By Pa Nderry M’Bai
Email: panderrymbai@gmail.com
Tel: 919-749-6319
The post I OWN THE GAP PARTY AND NOT DR. NJOGU BAH-BATCHILLY CLARIFIES; AS HE ACCUSES HIS DETRACTORS OF SMEAR CAMPAIGN appeared first on Freedom Newspaper.