The official Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) party, led by House Speaker Fabakary Tombong Jatta, has been accused of deploying underhand tactics and machinations to prevent former President Yahya Jammeh from addressing the nation this Sunday.
The No-To-Alliance movement, a faction of the APRC, issued a public statement on Thursday, announcing that Mr. Jammeh would not speak to the nation as planned due to, what it called, unforeseen circumstances.
The No-To-Alliance political movement had earlier invited its supporters from across the country, members of the diplomatic community and the media to Jammeh’s birthplace of Kanilai this weekend to listen in to the former president’s planned address.
Sources within the alliance claimed that the official APRC has been behind the cancellation, though they did not provide any evidence.
“They used their influence to convince the authorities that we are violating the country’s laws by using APRC symbols. This is one of the reasons we cancelled the Kanilai gathering,” one source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, claimed.
The No-To-Alliance splinter group did not give any official reason for the cancellation, but some said they did not have a police permit for the planned event.
The police spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
But an APRC official Pa Ebou Sonko told Star FM’s Open Mike, Friday morning show that they did not approach any authority to deny the alliance a permit to hold their event.
Meanwhile, the Fabakary Tombong Jatta-led APRC has been reportedly working on seeking recourse to the law to prevent the No-To-Alliance from utilising PRC symbols.
