Madi Jobarteh, spokesman for petitioners against the nomination of Dr Momodou Tangara’s for Commonwealth Secretary General, has defended their protest that the latter is not “fit” for the post of leading the intergovernmental body. 

The petitioners are looking for 500 signatures and more than 300 people have so far signed the petition which seeks to block the nomination of the country’s foreign affairs minister.

“As expressed in the petition statement, Tangara is not fit and proper to be the Commonwealth Secretary General in the name of the Gambia as he does not possess Commonwealth values. At a time when the Gambia was undergoing a brutal dictatorship, Tangara served as its voice and image to the rest of the world defending the dictatorship at international forums,” he said.

“The Gambian State is not only for the benefit of the officials who work in it. Rather our State derives its legitimacy and authority from the people and performs its functions on behalf of and for the welfare of the people. 

“Public officials who turn the State into a weapon of violence and corruption against the people and those who aid and abet them must face consequences for their decisions, positions and actions.”

“Today or tomorrow. Public office has benefits for those who work in it, but it also bears costs for those who flout and abuse public office,” he added.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba