President Adama Barrow has warned officials serving in his administration who do not share his development agenda to resign before he fires them.

Addressing a delegation of supporters from Kombo South at State House on Sunday Barrow said government officials should be loyal to his administration and those plotting to derail his efforts should leave before he sacked them.

“I am the bus driver and if you do not want to ride with me, then disembark from the bus because you are either in or out”.

He said there were officials whose objectives were to create a situation in which they could find their way to the presidency.

“If anyone wants to become president go through the front door because you cannot use the backdoor to ascend to the presidency. I used the front door when I sought to be elected president”.

The president said the people criticising him did not represent the vast majority of Gambians. “Those talking are insignificant people. Those who understand government and know how it operates do not talk. They are silent and they will not talk at all”.

Barrow said he would never betray the Gambian people, promising that at the end of his presidency he would stay in the country.

“I heard some people saying that my presidency will end and I will face a commission (of enquiry), but I can vow that after my presidency if the government did not owe me, I will not owe the government. I have said that we fought to rescue the country and if you are a hunter who went to fight and kill the lion you will not give it to a vulture. It’s only a foolish hunter who will kill a lion and give it to a vulture. That will not happen here.

“If people think they will sabotage and undermine the government to eventually remove President Barrow, they must be fooling themselves because it was the people who made me president. But my second term will be determined by the work I do.

“We are not politicking yet, we are doing our work and after that we will start politicking. That is the time we will be able to say we have done this and that here. As we speak even the Barrow Youth for National Development is bigger than some political parties in this country and can pull more support”.

Barrow said some failed politicians had sought the presidency for several decades and had never won it.

“I came out within three months and contested three elections and won all. I won the UDP (leadership election), Coalition (leadership election) and the presidential election and became the president of everyone in this country. Whether you like it or not, I am your president and you are my family”.

He accused some government officials of hypocrisy adding that they accused him of bribery and yet asked him to support their candidates during the recent past elections. He said during the National Assembly elections, he paid for the election expenses of many candidates from the Coalition parties (UDP, NCP, PDOIS, NRP, GMC, GPDP and the Independent Isatou Touray’s candidates).

“All of them received money from me but that was not bribery. The smallest amount I gave to some of them is D150,000. Some received D200,000 and D300,000. I paid all their polling agents for them and I also funded the council and mayoral elections”.