By Haddy Touray
Leader of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), Ousainu Darboe, has strongly criticized President Adama Barrow’s administration, accusing it of deeply-rooted corruption and calling on voters in Jarra to support a change of government in the 2026 presidential election.
Addressing supporters in Jarra Soma during his nationwide tour, Darboe said President Barrow’s failure to address corruption during his recently concluded “Meet-the-People-Tour” amounted to a tacit admission of wrongdoing.
“Throughout his tour, there was no day that he talked about corruption or the embezzlement in his government,” Darboe remarked. “Why?, because he is part of the corruption and embezzlement.”
The UDP leader argued that the president used the tour to attack opposition figures rather than to account for his record in office, accusing him of misleading voters and straying from his mandate. He urged Gambians to remove Barrow from office in 2026.
Darboe also compared the current administration unfavorably with the former government of Yahya Jammeh, which the UDP helped defeat in 2016 amid allegations of corruption and abuse of power. He alleged that the sale of assets seized from Jammeh had been mishandled under the Barrow administration.
“We fought against Yahya Jammeh for corruption,” he said. “Adama sold all the belongings of Jammeh, and during that sale, they did things that were worse than what Jammeh did.”
According to Darboe, sustainable development and economic progress would require a change of government to ensure that public resources benefit citizens rather than political elites. He also called on President Barrow to halt construction work on a property in Fajara designated for the Chief Justice, without providing further details.
The Barrow administration has consistently denied allegations of systemic corruption, saying it remains committed to reforms and accountability. Government officials were not immediately available to respond to the latest claims.
Meanwhile, the UDP chairman for the Mansakonko Area Council, Landing B. Sanneh, criticized President Barrow’s recent remarks targeting opposition chairmen and mayors, challenging the governing National People’s Party (NPP) to account for its own record in local development.
Sanneh questioned the achievements of NPP-affiliated council chairmen compared with those led by the opposition, rejecting claims that opposition councils rely solely on central government action.
“Your president has nothing to say since he is comparing himself with local governments,” Sanneh told party supporters. “He cannot achieve what we have done.”
In a related development, the chairman of the Brikama Area Council, Yankuba Darboe, accused the president of mismanaging the economy through asset sales and excessive borrowing, leaving the country heavily indebted.
“This is the situation Barrow puts us in,” he said.
Yankuba Darboe cited underutilized farmlands and rising youth unemployment, which he said were driving irregular migration. He criticized the government’s focus on large-scale road construction, arguing that comparable investment in agriculture would have created jobs, boosted the economy and generated resources for infrastructure development.
“The president has taken billions constructing roads,” he said. “If he puts these billions into farmlands, the youth will have work, the country will have money to construct roads, and Gambians will have a good living.”
He also faulted the administration for failing to increase groundnut prices for three consecutive years while approving salary increases for ministers and the president, stressing that agriculture remains the backbone of the Gambian economy and should be prioritized.
The post Darboe Accuses Barrow Administration of Corruption, Calls for Change in 2026 appeared first on .
By Haddy Touray Leader of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), Ousainu Darboe, has strongly criticized President Adama Barrow’s administration,…
The post Darboe Accuses Barrow Administration of Corruption, Calls for Change in 2026 appeared first on .
