With just over a year to go before presidential elections, Brikama Area Council Chairman Yankuba Darboe has called on Gambians to mobilise for a political shift in 2026, describing the stakes as nothing short of national survival.
Speaking at the inauguration of a political bureau named after the late Nogoi Njie in Mandinaring, Darboe said The Gambia is in the wrong hands and urged voters to act decisively to end the Barrow presidency. “Just like how we removed BAC from the wrong hands, we will do the same in 2026 to remove this country from the wrong hands,” he declared.
He framed the 2026 election as a continuation of the 2016 movement that unseated Yahya Jammeh, calling for unity and commitment similar to the coalition that led to that historic change.
Darboe paid tribute to the sacrifices of United Democratic Party (UDP) stalwarts, including the late Nogoi Njie, and said the country would have been better off if UDP leader Ousainou Darboe had won in 2021. “People will even say, if only we had taken Ousainou Darboe to the State House in 2021,” he added.
Darboe delivered a harsh indictment of the Barrow administration’s record on youth welfare, saying the economic situation has left many young people hopeless. “Young people are sitting home with frustration to the extent that they would rather risk dying abroad than stay in this country,” he said.
He recalled the chants of “No More Back Way” when Barrow returned from Senegal in 2016, contrasting that hope with today’s grim reality. “Since Barrow took over, over a thousand young people have died on their way to the back way,” he said. “He is driving a bus which he doesn’t know where it is heading to.”
Darboe argued that the government has failed to use public funds to create opportunities that would keep youth from seeking risky migration routes. “Billions of Dalasi are consumed by loopholes at the State House,” he said. “That money could save lives.”
Darboe pointed to the Brikama Area Council as an example of how governance can work. He said his administration has provided over 900 scholarships to students and reinvested tax revenues into local wards. He highlighted the 500,000 Dalasi allocated to Lamin ward in 2024, with 1 million Dalasi projected for this year and a target of 5 million in the future.
“I promised to seal financial loopholes at BAC, and we’ve done that,” he said. “People should see themselves in the development of their country, especially taxpayers.”
He challenged voters to demand the same level of transparency and accountability at the national level.
Darboe ended his speech with a passionate appeal to young people who did not vote in the 2021 elections. “2026 is do or die,” he said. “We must remove Barrow because he is only sleeping at the State House. State House is not a sleeping place.”
He urged the public to stay alert, register to vote, and prepare for change. “Without hard work at the top, the country cannot move forward,” he said.
