President Adama Barrow has taken another swipe at his arch-rival the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), claiming that he did not benefit a single dime during his membership with the party.

Barrow made these remarks during a rally in Ebo Town. Responding to comments from his political mentor, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, who criticised him by stating that development involves more than just building roads.

In his response, Barrow said: “The seat I’m occupying today is because of him [Darboe], as I decided to contest against Jammeh to secure his release from prison. Throughout my stay in the UDP, I never stood on a platform to speak. In the 20 years I spent with the UDP, I was the one investing my resources in the party, but the party never spent a dime on me.”

Barrow also recounted how he became the coalition’s presidential candidate in 2016: “When UDP members, including Darboe, were jailed, they turned to me and begged me to contest. They spent an entire month convincing me.

“At that time, the campaign budget was set at 1.5 million dalasis, but the contributions from party members, both at home and abroad, totaled only 210,000 dalasis. I had to dig deep into my pocket and contribute 1.29 million dalasis. If money had been my reason for entering politics, I would never have taken the risk of contesting the 2016 presidential election,” he added.

By Adama Makasuba