By: Momodou Gagigo
President Adama Barrow on Tuesday combined hands-on infrastructure inspections in the capital with a fiery political counter-attack against the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), declaring that persistent opposition only fuels his determination – even to seek a fifth term.
The President’s Meet the People Tour began on Tobacco Road (Tesito), where he walked the banks of a newly rehabilitated waterway. Resident Kolleh told reporters the upgrades had dramatically reduced crocodile sightings and mosquito breeding, eliminating long-standing safety fears. Accompanied by Banjul City Council CEO Ebrima Jawo, Barrow then moved to the ongoing Jokor-Superba-Ebo Town road project, part of the 50km Urban Roads Project in Greater Banjul. An elderly woman seized the moment to beg for improved drainage to end chronic flooding; the President promised swift action.
Addressing cheering residents, Barrow turned to politics with characteristic bluntness: “The more you block me, the more I will run – even for a fifth term!” He accused UDP councillors in neighbouring Kanifing Municipal Council of achieving virtually nothing in almost ten years, while his National People’s Party (NPP) government delivers visible projects nationwide. Citing findings from the ongoing Local Government Commission of Inquiry into alleged embezzlement in opposition-run councils, Barrow urged voters to back NPP candidates in the upcoming local elections to ensure continued development.
Later in Bundung, Minister of Transport, Works and Infrastructure Ebrima Sillah escalated the rhetoric, branding recent remarks by UDP lawyer Borry S. Touray against President Barrow as “vile and incisive”.
Sillah warned that such statements risked national stability and called on the Gambia Bar Association and police to act. Drawing a sharp personal contrast, the minister highlighted his own 22-year opposition to former President Yahya Jammeh – including eleven arrests – against what he portrayed as Touray’s reluctance to contest elections in the past.
As the President concluded his engagements, he left residents with an upbeat pledge: “My best is yet to come.” He outlined ambitious infrastructure plans for 2026 to 2031, insisting that his growing experience now outmatches that of any previous administration.
