BOMBSHELL:  YANKUBA COLLEY FIRED!

By Staff Reporter Atuteh telebuludorong, Banjul     

The national Mobiliser of the ruling APRC, Yankuba Colley, has been fired, I can authoritatively report .The development, which took effect Monday, has been keep under wraps to give the impression all is well in the ruling party.

Reports reaching Freedom Newspaper indicate that the Mayor of Kanifing Municipality had found himself out of depth in garnering enough votes for Jammeh, as his meetings were attended only by young kids whose eligibility to vote is even doubtful.

This, according to close connoisseurs of Jammeh's dwindling political fortunes, has generated in the psychotic and murderous dictator a sense of desperation and paranoia that the man had been all the while giving him false information on his chances of winning elections.

“Yankuba Colley has failed to attract people in massive numbers like his predecessor Yankuba Touray when he was the National Mobiliser. Apparently, Colley does not have the charm and gift of the gab to lure voters in the desired numbers. Jammeh thinks Yankuba Colley conspired to ensure his exit from power by giving him misleading information,” commented an APRC insider.

President Jammeh had earlier indicated that he would not embark on campaign in the confidence that his development achievements will campaign for him. However, the low-turnout of Gambians for pre-election APRC nationwide tours that have borne the brunt of 17 years of economic mismanagement, high cost of living, unemployment and curtailment of basic freedoms, has given him a reality check.

The successor to the disgraced Yankuba Colley has not been announced just yet, but reports disclose that former minister, Yankuba Touray, has been recycled and is being used to revive Jammeh`s profoundly shrunken electoral support base.

“The refrain of APRC big wigs is that President Jammeh did not want to go on tour but was exhorted to do so by his mum. Nothing could be further from the truth.  This man knows Gambians are sick and tired of him .The opposition could have won this election if they were united,” an APRC senior member conceded.

In a separate development, dictator Jammeh is increasingly worried about the  growing boycott of GRTS programs by its local Gambian audience here in Banjul. A good number of people in The Gambia  prefer tuning into Senegalese television networks than watching GRTS, which features the dictator 24/7 round the clock.

In an attempt to appease voters, Mr. Jammeh is spending huge amount of cash to sponsor primetime coverage in Senegalese TV networks. His former House Speaker Fatou Jahumpa Ceesay, EX MP Nyumassata Sanneh Bojang, Fatou Bah, of Half Die, and other party bigwigs appeared on the prominent Senegalese 2STV Tabaski day to promote the party’s agenda.

“Yaya Jammeh knows that Gambians are not watching his GRTS anymore and he is now using the Senegalese media which has a very wide audience in The Gambia. I told the opposition to do the same but up till now; none of the opposition candidates are featured in the Senegalese media which commands the highest audience in the country,” said a source close to the opposition.

The source also noted that the Freedom Radio is also seriously impacting against Jammeh’s re-election thanks to the Radio’s enlightening programs, and commentaries.  Despite the limited Internet connection in the country, coupled with lack of reliable Internent connections, more and more Gambians are getting awaken about the despotic Jammeh rule thanks to the Freedom Radio, the source noted.