Regional spokesperson for the Gambia’s largest opposition party Karamo Njie has dismissed as insincere and too little, too late the apology offered by ruling party heavyweight Seedy Njie over his remarks about influencing President Adama Barrow’s decision on two key civil servant appointments.
UDP’s Njie described the deputy House speaker’s apology as a defense against any backlash from the nation’s chief executive.
“Seedy Njie’s apology was compelled by his desire to remain in the President’s good books as well as to stay in the lucrative position that he currently holds,” Njie maintained.
Speaking in an interview with JollofNews on Sunday evening, the United Democratic Party’s North Bank Region spokesman contended that Seedy had chosen to remain defiant and satisfied in his remarks for weeks before deciding to offer a “backhanded” apology.
Karamo said Njie’s own admission of persecuting two top Mandinka civil servants on grounds of their ethnicity and “political affiliation” has angered influential Mandinka figures both in the religious circle and positions of authority.
“Seedy Njie is still defiant, despite causing anger and consternation across Mandinka communities across the country,” Njie said. He continued: “Prominent Mandinka Islamic clerics have since mounted the pulpit in many Mandinka communities to condemn tribalism and the persecution of their tribesmen based on tribe. But Seedy Njie chose to sit in his house apparently not bothered by the condemnations that his remarks attracted only for him to issue a half-hearted apology weeks later.”
He contended that Seedy’s apology has fallen short of offering reassurance to Mandinka communities as President Barrow and Lamin Queen Jammeh were the “import” of the apology letter.
Seedy Njie, arguably the most influential member of the NPP after President Barrow, last week apologised for bragging that he prevented the promotion of two senior Mandinka civil servants because of their Mandinka background and “affiliation to the UDP”.
UDP’s Njie accused NPP’s Njie of being hateful and intolerant to the Mandinka ethnic group.
“But I would like to tell him that Mandinkas are here to stay. Mandinkas will inhabit this land for generations to come and no amount of persecution can break their spirits,” he emphasized.
