Yankuba Colley, former mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council under ex-president Yahya Jammeh government, has attacked the APRC breakaway group. 

Colley labelled the faction as a “feeble group who cannot do anything to bring changes in the party”. 

APRC has been beset by an internal power struggle after Jammeh dismissed the party’s executive headed by Fabakary Tombong Jatta (FTJ) for entering a coalition with President Adama Barrow in the run up to last year’s presidential election. 

However, FTJ and his leadership rejected the decision of Jammeh, the once feared Gambian leader and party founder. 

“No region or tribe owns APRC. In fact, as I am speaking to you now, some of the people who left APRC are coming back to the party. 

“So, that’s why we don’t discuss that group because they cannot do anything, they cannot bring any changes,” Mr Colley told Gambiana.

However, spokesman for the breakaway APRC faction Pa Modou Mbowe rubbished Mr Colley’s claims. 

He said: “We are the real APRC, the APRC of Babili Mansa because he is the bona fide leader of APRC. 

“Our constitution is similar to the constitution of The Gambia and for that reason only President Yahya Jammeh has the power to hire and fire. 

“He has fired many people by just telephone calls. He fired MA Bah and hired Fabakary Tombong Jatta.”

Mr Mbowe described FTJ and his leadership as “not popular”, adding “let them just go to the NPP and leave us with our party.”

“This party belongs to Babili Mansa. There was a lot of resistance at the start of 2017 when Fabakary Tombong Jatta wanted to take us to Barrow, but we refused,” he added.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba