President Adama Barrow has accused his former vice-president, Ousainou Darboe, of using his position in government to prepare a political challenge against him, saying this loss of trust led to the dismissal of United Democratic Party (UDP) members from his cabinet.

Speaking about the breakdown in relations with Mr Darboe on GRTS, President Barrow said he became convinced that his then vice-president was actively positioning himself for the presidency while still serving in government.

“Lawyer Ousainou Darboe himself wanted my seat while he was in my government,” President Barrow said. “That is why, while he was vice-president, he was going around doing politics.”

He alleged that meetings linked to Mr Darboe were being used to criticise his leadership, undermining cabinet unity and collective responsibility.

According to him, these activities crossed a red line for him as head of government.

“Others were criticising me in his meetings,” he said. “There was a day Almay Taal criticised me, and I called him and told him to address it and stop it, but he did nothing about it.”

Mr Barrow said he interpreted the silence as tacit approval and further evidence that Mr Darboe and his allies were preparing for the next election rather than focusing on governing.

“He was doing politics to prepare himself for the next election,” the president said.

The dispute culminated in a dramatic cabinet reshuffle, which marked a turning point in the alliance that brought Mr Barrow to power in 2017.

He said decisive action became unavoidable once he fully understood what he described as internal manoeuvring against his leadership.

“When I became aware of their tactics, I fired all those UDP members in my cabinet on Friday,” he said.

Defending his decision, the president framed the dismissals as a matter of loyalty and constitutional order, stressing that ministers could not work against the government they served.

“You can’t be in my government conniving to remove me from power,” he said.

By Adama Makasuba