OJ Demands PPP’s Assets From President Barrow

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By AMADOU MANJANG

Omar Jallow the former Agricultural Minister of People’s Progressive Party demanded what he called the need for Barrow government to return properties of his party and its members that were illegally confiscated by former regime of Yahya Jammeh.
He made this call at his party’s recently concluded national congress at YMCA, MDI Road in Kanifing.
Information has it that the party’s assets that were confiscated include buildings and vehicles among others. and the party’s archive was said to have been vandalized and document burnt.
“The confiscated properties of the party and those of its members, I have addressed a letter to the Government seeking their immediate return. I believe this is an important area of concern which I urge the new leadership to pursue relentlessly,” he said.
He recalled PPP was banned following a military coup in 1994 that ousted te party in power. He added that the military junta then confiscated the party’s properties without any due process of the law, made a campaign to discredit and vilify the party in the country.
“Unfortunately some of the people got carried away by those malicious and dishonest campaigns without any effort to verify contents of such propaganda message,” he said.
He further recalled that in 1996 under Decree 89, some political parties were banned including PPP, NCP and GPP making all their political activities illegal.
Notwithstanding, he said the parties in similar situations decided to seek the lifting of the ban, according to Jallow.
“The three parties concerned sent petition to President Jammeh, the UN, AU and ECOWAS explaining the unjust and undemocratic treatment suffered by them and seek an immediate lift of the ban in August 2001,” he said.
He said PPP has emerged stronger after the ban. It has brought new opportunity for the party to re-engage with its militants and the Gambian people to meet, revive the party and selected Pink as the party colour.