Koroma supporter
Probably the clearest indication yet that the succession question in the ruling All People’s Congress is far from settled, emerged at an official commissioning ceremony of the Regent-Grafton Road on Saturday.
Scores of mostly young people turned out in the Mountain District of Freetown, clad in T-shirts and carried placards both with the inscription “AFTER U NAR U” printed on them.
The slogan has been adopted by people advocating for President Ernest Bai Koroma to seek a third term in office at the end of his current second and final constitutional mandate.
Sam-Sumana supporter
There were also other people in red T-shirts with the words “SAM FOR PRESIDENT”, an apparent reference to the Vice President of Sierra Leone, Chief Alhaji Samuel Sam-Sumana. That was the first time supporters of the vice president were making a public show of his intention or their desire for him to succeed his boss.
A State House press release, apparently issued recently, denied the president had any intention of extending his mandate as provided for by the 1991 constitution of Sierra Leone which is currently under review.
It followed the pronouncement on radio stations by the APC deputy publicity secretary, Robin Fallay, asking for “Extra Time” for president Koroma. Fallay argued that the president needed more time beyond his five-year mandate to complete his projects.
Fallay, who left the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party after five years as its Member of Parliament, joined the APC ahead of the 2012 elections after he had been charged with electoral fraud. The charges were subsequently dropped - almost immediately following his cross-carpeting.
Meanwhile, his comments have been criticised by many Sierra Leoneans, who told Politico that such statements were undemocratic and could land Sierra Leone into another round of chaos.
In an interview with Radio Mount Aureol, the secretary general of SLPP blamed “sycophantic politicians” for urging the president to extend his term. He said his party was represented on the Constitutional Review Committee and would make sure no such extension took place.
President Koroma made no reference to the placards and T-shirts in his speech to commission the bridge.
The president handed over the 11.5 kilometre Regent-Grafton-Kossor Town road project for construction to the China Railway Seventh Group (CRSG) on Tuesday 20 December 2011.
After over 28 months of work on the over US$30 million project the president officially commissioned it on April 26 2014 ahead of celebrations marking the country’s 53rd independence anniversary. The funds were provided by the Chinese government.
(C) Politico 29/04/14
