President Adama Barrow, Secretary General and Leader of the National People’s Party (NPP) said the party is a working party that focuses on development.
“We are a Working Party, focussed on development, and ‘YEERWA’ is our Slogan,” President Barrow said in Tuesday in a Mandingo dialect during his inaugural address at the party’s first congress.
He made the statement at NPP’s first congress on Tuesday, where said NPP members always show political maturity and discipline, be polite to everybody, and remain law-abiding and peaceful patriots.
“These are the guiding principles of our Party. Whoever takes up insults to deal with an opponent does not identify with our Party’s values. Let me emphasise that we uphold the values of respect, human rights, and the Rule of Law to maintain peace and stability,” President Barrow told party delegates.
“As we look forward to the Local Government Elections, let us settle for the best in whatever we do and rally behind the Party candidates. This is attainable if we collectively embrace peace and reject violence, no matter how challenging the circumstances may be,” he added.
He noted as a young party, the NPP holds strongly onto promoting and consolidating the values of democracy, respect for human and peoples’ rights, and the rule of law, nationally and globally.
He also said the party is determined to preserve, promote, and strengthen good democratic governance.
He added that these universal core values constitute some of the cardinal principles of our Party manifesto and philosophy, hence they will never abandon them.
President Barrow said today, Gambians express themselves freely, without fear, noting that this is evidenced by the various thriving social media platforms, newspaper editorials, radio and TV shows, and commentaries.
“After decades of struggles for freedom, we now have a new democracy with a wide latitude of freedom. Ours is a maturing democracy that has already earned global recognition and commendation.
In the past, making such bold statements was unthinkable, but this is the reality of the day. It is a remarkable achievement for the entire Gambian nation,” President Barrow pointed out.
The Gambian stated that a generation has emerged from the Gambian nation that is adequately inspired and devoted to making the NPP the greatest political vehicle ever in the history of this country.
“We must now harness the considerable successes recorded in the key areas of development and governance, and work together for the common good, as expressed in our national anthem: “That all may live in unity, Freedom, and peace each day.”
We must appreciate that it takes a united people to move a nation; that is, a nation bound together, without any barriers of ethnicity, religion, or social status. Thus, “One Gambia, one nation, one people” should be our mantra,” President Barrow told party delegates in his inaugural address
The Gambian leader added upon assuming office in 2017, the first concern for him and his government was to act quickly to accomplish this mission.
He noted that successfully, they have transitioned from an isolated nation to a respected partner on the global stage.
“We have returned to the Commonwealth of Nations with all its associated benefits and have cemented strong diplomatic ties with friends around the world.
As a nation and government, we must not be content with these achievements. The task before us grows greater by the day, so all Gambians must realise that it takes the people of a country to build a nation, and not just their President,” he said.
