By KABS KANU :
Members of the ruling All People’s Congress ( APC) last Saturday staged the biggest and the best social occasion in New Jersey for a long time.
The party’s much-talked -about Inauguration and Fund-raising Gala was really grand and it had everything : Total involvement by the huge number of supporters the party had recruited in the Garden State, including the large number of dedicated women in the State now on board (And women rock the cradle that makes the world go round ) ; color, excitement, patronage from the community and other states ; glowing speeches from Mayor Phil Kramer, Minister Plenipotentiary Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu, Parliamentarian Albert Deen;Koroma and Deputy Health Minister Madina Rahman, and of course non-stop enjoyment during the jampacked gala night at the Holiday Inn, Davidson Avenue, Somerset, New Jersey.
ALIMAMY TURAY INTRODUCES MEMBERS OF THE APC- USA on his left hand side ( Beatrice Conteh, Fynda Fillie- Faboe and Ibrahim KAMARA ). On his right are executive members of APC NewJersey
THE HIGH TABLE
DJ Sly, who dashed in from Freetown at the eleventh hour to control the show, kept revelers on the dance floor for three straight and uninterrupted hours with thrilling music , after all the ceremonies and speeches.
MR. ALIMAMY TURAY RECEIVES THE CERTIFICATE OF INAUGURATION FROM MS. FYNDA FILLIE-FABOE
APC-USA INTERIM CHAIRMAN IBRAHIM KAMARA INDUCTS APC-NJ INTO OFFICE
All roads indeed led to the APC New Jersey Gala last Saturday and the program will be talked about for a long time to come and those who think that the opposition-inspired propaganda against the party in salacious social media publicity and the recent off-color song by the politicized , once-respected musician, Emerson Bockarie, had affected the APC’s acceptability, popularity and magnet- like capacity to draw in supporters must have been disappointed and shamed as the APC proved once again that it is the party of the people. The crowd the party pulled last Saturday told a story that the APC is still very popular .
MR. ALIMAMY TURAY GIVES HIS INAUGURAL ADDRESS
MRS. BEATRICE CONTEH AND OFFICIALS FROM WASHINGTON DC
QUEEN ABIE MANSARAY AND M. BANGS IN THE MIDDLE OF PHOTO
SLPP FORMER CHAIR MR. JERRY GEORGE WAS AT THE PROGRAM
THE APC-NJ EXECUTIVE POSE OUTSIDE THE HALL
THE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN OF APC-NJ
Almost any Sierra Leonean that matters in the New Jersey society is now an APC supporter, especially the women . It was simply amazing and fascinating to see the mammoth support that the party had garnered over the past year especially and New Jersey went red at the weekend , starting from Saturday morning when partisans dressed in specially-produced white T-shirts with the red APC logo made a colorful community outreach , visiting members and key spots in the township in a show of physical presence and morale-boosting visibility , led by the President of the Chapter, Mr. Alimamy Turay and officials.
DANCING ON THE STAGE
THE APC-NJ EXECUTIVE
DEPUTY HEALTH MINISTER HON. MADINA RAHMAN -THIRD FROM LEFT-AND MR. PAVI JALLOH AND HIS FAMILY
FROM RIGHT; MRS. BAI KAMARA, PAVI JALLOH, KABS KANU, FODAY MANSARAY AND MAMADI JALLOH
MAYOR KRAMER , FODAY MANSARAY AND OTHER TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS
The ceremony at Holiday Inn was attended by a galaxy of VIPS ; key Municipal township officials led by Mayor Philip Kramer ; Sierra Leone government officials including those sent from Freetown to represent President Ernest Koroma ( Deputy Health Minister , Hon. Madina Rahman and Member of Parliament from Constituency 34, Bombali District , Hon. Albert Deen Kamara ) , Minster Plenipotentiary to the U.N, Hon. Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu; high-ranking officials , including the Chairman of the APC-USA Mr. Ibrahim Sanpha Kamara and top officials and chapter Presidents from different states in the U.S, heads of Sierra Leone organizations like the Chairman of the Sierra Leone Community of New Jersey ( SLCNJ ), Mr. Lamin Alharazim and the Chairman of the West African Community, Mr. Foday Mansaray; religious leaders, including Imam Abdallah Savage and Pastor Philip Conteh etc. etc. The opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party ( SLPP ) was represented by former Chairman Jerry George and leading officials of the party in New Jersey.
MAYOR PHIL KRAMER , MR. CHARLES ONYIEJIKA -FOURTH FROM LRFT -MP DEEN KAMARA, FIFTH FROM LEFT -AND APC MEMBERS
The program started with the playing of the national anthems of Sierra Leone and the U.S, followed by prayers by Imam Abdullah Savage and Pastor Philip S. Conteh.
In their statements, Minister Plenipotentiary Kabs-Kanu appealed to all Sierra Leoneans to be united and to help to promote and rebrand their country under the leadership of President Ernest Bai Koroma, who is doing so much to change the socio-economic and political face of the nation for the better, while Deputy Health Minister Madina Rahman dwelt on the development projects President Koroma has embarked on to better the lot of all Sierra Leoneans. MP Deen Kamara said that because of what President Koroma has done for Sierra Leone, the APC will continue winning elections after elections .
THE HALL WAS JAMMED TO FULL CAPACITY
The inaugural oath to members of the new APC-NJ Executive was administered by the Interim Chairman of APC-USA, Mr. Ibrahim Sanpha Kamara , who was introduced by the Interim Secretary General, Ms. Fynda Fillie-Faboe .
The officials sworn in and inducted into office were :
- PRESIDENT : Alimamy Turay
- VICE-PRESIDENT : Ibrahim Coulson Mansaray
- SECRETARY GENERAL : Muctarr Bah
- ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL : David Bomboli Mansaray
- FINANCIAL SECRETARY : Sulaiman Kargbo
- TREASURER : Francis Sieh Kanu
- ORGANIZING /SOCIAL SECRETARY : Donald Cline-Thomas
- WOMEN’S LEADER : Namina Kossay
- YOUTH LEADER : Mamadu Jalloh
Mr. Ibrahim Kamara charged the new APC NJ Executive to uphold and promote the ideals and programs of the APC and to work in unison with the national branch and other chapters in interest of the party and the country .
In his inaugural address, the newly sworn-in President of the APC New Jersey Chapter , Mr. Alimamy Turay, outlined the massive recruitment exercise his executive had embarked on since he was elected and said that he was gratified that the number of members has increased dramatically. He also lauded the cooperation he was receiving from the executive and the rank-and-file and he pledged to do a lot to promote the agenda of President Ernest Koroma and the party.
The APC New Jersey Chapter capped the colorful and exciting program by giving awards to the Rev. Kabs -Kanu for moral and financial support to the party and past Presidents Alhaji Alie Badara, Mr. Pavi Jalloh, Mr. Alex Mansaray and other members Mr. Foday Mansaray and Mr. Santogie Koroma for their commitment.
After all the statements and protocols, it was time for celebration and did the crowd dance ! It was a delightful night .
This program will be spoken about for years to come.
