Top APC politician Eddie Turay has told the Patriotic Vanguard that contrary to newspaper reports in Freetown he never took to court and has nothing against APC leader Ernest Bai Koroma.
Speaking in a telephone interview from Virginia, USA, where he is on a short visit, Turay said he never had any personal disagreements with Ernest but that the APC leader and some members of his executive unconstitutionally expelled some senior members including Dr. Nabie, M L Bangura and others from the party over some obscure issues.. "It was these members that took Ernest, Victor Foh, Yansaneh and others to court, not me", Turay said. He added that the matter is still in the Freetown courts.
Eddie, a professional lawyer and veteran politician, stressed that he will always work in the interest of the APC and that he is ready and willing to work with Ernest Koroma. "In fact it was I who brought Ernest to the party. He was with PDP-Sorbeh", Turay clarified.
He was however upset that Ernest Koroma and others went ahead and held a party convention in Port Loko after "we had met in his house and we all agreed that the convention should be postponed until all the differences were resolved". He is also unhappy that Ernest had, after the said convention, awarded himself about five positions including presidential candidate, minority leader in parliament, ECOWAS parliament party representative, and so on. "That’s too much for one person", he observed.
He however hoped other senior party members like Dr. Abdulai Conteh would continue in their efforts to mend fences in the party. "That’s the only hope we have, nobody in Freetown can any longer talk to Ernest and make him see reason", Eddie Turay revealed.
The Vanguard then called Ernest Koroma in Freetown for his reaction to what Eddie Turay said. He categorically denied that he expelled anybody from the party. He explained that it was senior party executives like Chukuma Johnson and others that expelled the said members for what they described as ’anti-party activities’. One of those expelled, Shekou Deen Sesay, is now a member of the ruling SLPP."I was in the United States, out of the country, when that happened", Koroma said.
He said he and other party leaders including Chukuma Johnson, later invited those expelled back into the party in the interest of party unity but he said they refused to seize the opportunity up till now.
The APC party leader also suspects some oppostion elements to be behind the wrangling and court cases in his party. "We know they are financing and encouraging them", he said. He added that the cases now before the High Court are appeal cases "which they will lose in the end", he asserted with confidence.
Photo: Ernest Koroma (centre), Chukuma Johnson (right) and other APC leaders at the Port Loko convention.
More On The Ernest Koroma Interview Next Week. Stay Tuned To The Patriotic Vanguard.
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