By: Binta Jaiteh
The United Democratic Party (UDP) has threatened legal action against Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Seedy Njie over his recent allegations directed at the opposition party.
Hon. Njie in an interview with the West Coast Radio, tried to link the UDP to: tribalism, blocking of the 2020 Draft Constitution, as well as voter intimidation against non-Mandinka communities.
Addressing journalists on Saturday at the party’s bureau in Manjai, Lamin Manneh, UDP’s Deputy Administrative Secretary for Foreign Relations, dismissed Njie’s accusations as “baseless and unfounded.”
“The statement he made is dishonourable. Based on the allegations, we challenge him to bring concrete evidence that can be proven in court,” Manneh charged.
Manneh accused Njie of having a history of undermining democratic processes, recalling his role during the 2016 political impasse.
“When the impasse happened, he was promoted to Minister of Information for one week to carry out the same hypocritical actions he did for Jammeh. He swore that President Barrow would not be sworn in, connived with Fabakary Tombong Jatta to bring a state of emergency, and worked to subvert the will of Gambians,” Manneh alleged.
Manneh further claimed that Njie fled to Equatorial Guinea with former president Yahya Jammeh and returned only because “President Barrow is not the kind who holds anyone accountable.”
Manneh also accused Njie of halting the construction of a maternity ward in Chamen Nianija because it did not bear his or the NPP’s name, calling him “a parasite on the Gambian resources.”
The UDP official maintained that the government could no longer intimidate citizens, warning against electoral malpractice.
“It is evident that NPP cannot win free and transparent elections again. Come 2026, UDP will win massively without waiting for IEC’s results,” he declared.
Deputy Senior Administrative Secretary Yakumba Jaiteh also criticised the government for focusing on attacking UDP instead of addressing pressing national concerns.
“They should be talking about the poor economy, the depreciation of the dalasi, and other issues. But they choose baseless accusations. They have nothing meaningful to offer except politics,” she said.
