By Mustapha Sesay and Jenneh Braima
Outgoing chairman of the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party has confessed to divisions in his party, warning onetime standard bearer, Rtd. Brig. Julius Maada Bio not to use his “popularity” to “dismantle the party structure and leadership”. John Oponjo Benjamin made the pronouncement at his final presser as leader of the party held at their Freetown headquarters. He particularly claimed that the contest for the flag-bearer position in 2011 and events leading up to the 2012 elections was a killer shot. Benjamin said 19 candidates expressed interest to contest for the position despite all efforts made by two of the party’s elders Dr. Sama Banya and Dr. Peter Tucker to reduce the number. He further alleged that “campism”, both at constituency and national levels ahead of the delegates’ conference in 2011, further compounded the divide which saw senior members leaving the party. “But I have been unfairly criticized for all the problems”, he said, adding that he inherited “an SLPP in shambles” and made a lot of scarifies to structure the party more especially during the electioneering process in 2012. The opposition leader described his tenure of office as “challenging” but said he strove to stay strong amidst those challenges. He said he protected the party from “APC’s violent attacks which witnessed the rape of female members of the party.” However, he expressed the hope that the SLPP was determined to take over governance of the country and said they would not tolerate trivialities. © Politico 15/08/13
