The United Democratic Party (UDP) is ramping up pressure on President Adama Barrow after he sacked senior party officials including the leader, Ousainou Darboe.

In a party rally in Bundung on Saturday the party officials didn’t mince their words when attacking President Barrow who they said had betrayed his former party and comrades.  

The former Trade minister, Amadou Sanneh, who was sacked during the cabinet reshuffle two weeks ago, said President Barrow had issued himself a red card over his decision to sack his political godfather, Ousainou Darboe.

“If you say you’re sacking the secretary general of UDP (Darboe), you say that you’re sacking Honourable Lamin Dibba and myself, you haven’t sacked us. You guys should tell him (Barrow) he has in fact issued himself a red card.”

Sanneh said the UDP made Barrow and it was only through the party’s platform that he was catapulted to fame and fortune.  

“We are all in the party. Some came yesterday. Some have been members of the party since 1996. But you can remind President Adama Barrow [of] when he came to UDP. Was it in 2006? He’s a newcomer. If he says UDP was fighting for power for 22 years that 22 years we couldn’t defeat Yahya; that he came in three months and removed Yahya.

“Where did he first stand? It was the parliamentary elections where he contested against Mamma Kandeh and lost. He contested again and lost. So he came to UDP. He was covered with a UDP blanket. Because of this he was chosen by UDP and succeeded.”

The administrative secretary of the United Democratic Party, Alhagie S. Darboe said that President Adama Barrow was behaving dishonestly towards his fellow coalition partners.

“People say it’s betrayal. I say this is not betrayal. This is what you call broad daylight cheating. President Barrow is in power today thanks to the efforts of UDP. This is our sweat, it’s our tears, it’s our blood that he is sitting on. We want to tell the president that it is through our effort that the change came. So he cannot beat his chest to say that it’s the constitution that has given him the power to fire our people.

“If the other parties don’t speak up, UDP will. We all own it so if you say we should not be part of it, you are cheating us and we will not forgive you and Allah will not forgive you.”

Former Minister of Agriculture Lamin Dibba said he was in Chad when he was sacked by President Adama Barrow.

Dibba said he happened to be among those who exited the bus when he had in fact never boarded it.

“I am also one of those people who have been removed from the bus. Ousainu said he was removed but the time the bus was departing, I didn’t board because I was in N’Djamena, Chad. The time people were being removed, I was not here, I was in Chad. So I didn’t enter the bus.”

Dibba added that the UDP members who were in cabinet were working for the country not UDP.

“It was about the country not UDP. The UDP was formed because of the country. So when we entered the government, we were working for the country. That’s our belief.”