EYEAFRICA TV: Banjul, The Gambia: A Fula Association called Tabital Pulaagu Mbo Gambia, has accused President Adama Barrow of taking a direction that suggests a tribal difference in The Gambia, declining to honour what they said was his invitation for at least 3000 Fulas to a meeting at Statehouse.
At at press conference convened at the Independence stadium on Saturday, the Association vent its anger against Mr Barrow for failing to respond to their invitation for three times in a row to brief him on the outcome of their congress.
“Some time ago, our President Seedy Dem told us that the President said he want to meet the Fulas, and when we asked him why, he said that is because he is a Fula and want to see how he can work with them,” Sutura Jallow, an adviser of the Association said.
Mr Jallow said they declined to honour the invitation because the Association was formed to contribute to the stability in the country, saying Mr Barrow said that it was the Mandinkas who made him president but he could not pull with them anymore and now want to create space to work with the Fulas. “We did not buy that idea because Gambia is a small country where everyone is connected to everyone.”
According to him, Mr Dem said every Fula chief and Alkalo in every region should come together and mobilise at least 3000 people to come to Statehouse for a meeting but they told him that that is against the constitution and creation of the association and they are not established to support any political cause.”
Mr Jallow reminded Gambian Fulas that they are not ‘rusted’ groundnuts that one can buy and put in his pocket and be chewing while going. He also challenged one Mamadou Kandeh who he said has promised that he would provide the 3000 people to hold a meeting with President Barrow, saying they wanted to work with Kandeh but because his focus is politics, they cannot pull with him.
“We respect President Barrow as the leader and as the President of this country today and we don’t want to do anything against the law but we are not doing anything that is against The Gambian law,” he said.
He said they brought a budget of more than 700, 000 dalasi for the meeting but that never changed their position because that does not commensurate with the idea of establishing the association.
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