BY STAFF WRITER JUSTICE SAM

Following his resignation from NADD, Assan Musa Camara is also reported to have turned down a government job offered to him by Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, unimpeachable sources hinted today. Camara, the former leader of the defunct Gambia People’s Party (GPP ) reportedly cited old age among others to decline Jammeh’s government job offered to him.

It is reported that Assan Musa Camara, was said to have told the President that he was prepared to offer him advise on  issues of governance, if the need arisis,but serving him full time was  totally a forgotten conclusion. State House sources say Assan Musa Camara, had a fruitful conversation with Jammeh and the two had decided to put politics aside to reconcile whatever differences that might have occurred between them. Jammeh, was said to have assured Camara that his government was more than ready to engage the old guards into dialogue in the sprit of national reconciliation.

As the situation stands, Assan Musa Camara is not associated with any political party in The Gambia. His NADD resignation sent shocking waves across the West African country. Camara, a father figure in Gambian politics told The Freedom Newspaper, in a recent interview that his failure to register his GPP Party, was as a result of his intention to have a unified opposition against incumbent President Jammeh. It is gathered that his decision to call it a day with NADD was triggered by the failure on the side of the opposition leaders to come together under one umbrella to tackle Jammeh in the country’s 2006 polls.

Assan Musa Camara, a charismatic politician despite his old age, was one of those opposition big wigs, who used to chant the slogan “Jammeh Jipo” meaning Jammeh step down from power. His recent close ties with Jammeh seems to have put his call into the dustbin of history, as the old man is believed to be retiring from active politics, just like in the case of his former political opponent Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara. Assan has joined the footsteps of Sir Dawda, who is today entangled into Jammeh’s political cage.

ASSAN JOINS DK ON THE RETIREMENT CAMP

Reports have it that Femi Peters, a former GPP official, was being lured to join the Jammeh camp. These reports were  being denied by some elements of the opposition UDP saying Peters have all rights to visit the state house at his own accord. They accused the Ruling APRC of propaganda campaign in a bid to score political points at the detriment of their opponents.

The question lingering in the minds of many here in the country, is: Is Femi Peters still answerable to his boss Assan Musa Camara? It is true that Assan motivated him to meet with Jammeh, whom he criticized recently for maladministration?

“Peters recently called on the AU to relocate the Banjul meeting. His sudden change of political heart is sparking a lot of controversy in the country. What he discussed with Jammeh in private had not surfaced in the limelight yet. But what is clear is that Femi is playing cool and hot at the same time. What is going on with the Gambian opposition? Asked a local observer.

Incumbent President Yahya Jammeh is seeking for third term election. Despite his past utterances that future leaders of The Gambia will not be allowed to run the country for more than two terms, Jammeh is heading for twenty years rule. His eleven years rule had been characterized by economic and political crisis. Most of his perceived opponents were either killed, forcefully exiled or imprisoned as it happened under the leadership of the late Ugandan dictator Edi Amen Dada.

Despite the growing dislike for his administration within and outside the country, Jammeh is not demonstrating any sign of stepping down from power in the short term. He often brags that he put his life on the line to topple the then Jawara administration and will not allow the come back of the old guards into  power. But what is clear today is that the old guards are in control of his battered and discredited regime.