We do get a lot of email messages, articles, news items and letters to the editor, but we do not of course scramble to publish whatever we receive. A lot of the stuff we receive is trash but there is always a few publishable items. We have in place a robust security apparatus at our newsroom gate manned by formidable and no-nonsense bouncers and enforcers.
However sometimes out of the 80 percent or so rubbish we get, some oddballs do stand out, which makes them interesting enough to share with our readers. Before we share with you one of such items we received just this morning, we would like to say this first: We do not think President Koroma and the APC government would like all opposition members to join the APC. We need a vibrant opposition.
We therefore find the rumour that says Brigadier (Rtd) Maada Bio (seen third from left in this State House photo with President Koroma and some prominent SLPP members) wants to become an APC member ridiculous and far-fetched. We say far-fetched because there is nothing impossible in politics. But still, we find it dubious because we know how Bio has been trying to eliminate his opponents one by one in the fight for the SLPP flagbearership.
The story also claimed that President Koroma wants to extend his tenure or wants to contest again for a third term presidency. That sounds extremely false because the president had said not too long ago in New York that he is not interested in a third term. All he wanted, he said, was to retire peacefully when his term ends in 2018. He also said what he was thinking of was to leave a good legacy for future generations.
So what’s the hidden dagger in this "news item" we have just received? Is it to garner sympathy for Dr. Kandeh Yumkella who was mentioned in the story, purportedly from SLPP members in Kambia, Dr. Yumkella’s home district or is it to destroy any close relationship or peaceful co-existence between Bio and President Koroma and the APC?
We leave it to you the readers to decide. Send your comments to the publisher at: gkgkoroma@gmail.com.
Here is the strange news item from somebody calling himself or herself Important Sesay:
President Koroma to extend tenure?
Members of the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) in Kambia District have stated in a recent statement that they are of the suspicion that President Ernest Bai Koroma and the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) want to extend their tenure.
We are against that, totally against that,” the statement states, adding, Therefore, we are not comfortable with the new romance between the President and the Retired Brigadier Bio.”
The SLPP members also stated that the new-found love between President
Ernest Bai Koroma and Retired Brig. Julius Maada Bio is a ploy not meant to
support the latter but to disintegrate and fragment their dear party, the SLPP,
noting that the party must be seen and heard as a true opposition and not a
sell-out.
The statement went on: “We firmly say that the greatness of our
party is built on our diversity. It is that competitive spirit that thrives in
us that makes us democratic and good governors. It is that spirit that brought
our grand-fathers and grand-mothers together in the fifties to form this party
here in Kambia. We should be ready to continue living with this spirit.”
They also stated SLPP is fort all Sierra Leoneans and that party members in Kambia
District “are pleading to the senior party members to embrace peace, to allow
all aspirants to talk against violence inside and outside of the country. We are
asking you Brigadier Bio, to speak out against violence perpetrated by members
of your Pa-o-Pa group all the time.”
The statement, which was released following the SLPP National Officers’ visit to the party office in Kambia, described the district as the original home of the SLPP and welcomed those who are genuine members of the party to visit Kambia.
“We are not happy that some party members, in fact, natural members of the SLPP are not allowed to enter and speak out their views in the party office in Freetown and elsewhere,” states the statement, adding, “We are not pleased with the violence that was meted out to our son, Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella on 24th August, 2015, in and out of the SLPPoffice in Freetown.”
The statement maintained that SLPP is “One People, One
Country,” not “One Party, One Region.”
The statement further states:As was manifested by some members of the National Executive especially on the issue of Dr. Yumkella’s membership, we the people of Kambia have to state here that we acknowledge and appreciate the membership of Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella as Chief Patron of the SLPP. We call on all genuine SLPP to do the same.”
It stressed that SLPP is not a party for only one tribe (probably the Mende tribe) but a
party for all tribes in Sierra Leone, noting that the party had its motto “One
Country, One People” from the date of the party’s foundation in Kambia.
We have decided today to demonstrate the SLPP spirit of openness, inclusiveness and oneness by gracefully welcoming all of you to this office and to our district
with this statement,” the statement concluded.
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