HON. IBRAHIM BEN KARGBO
7 WELLINGTON STREET
FREETOWN
24th February, 2015.
Dear Comrade Jengo Stevens,
I acknowledge the letter dated 16th February, 2015 addressed to the Secretary General of the APC and copied me as member of NAC and to also state that your appeal for an investigation into the Party political activities of Comrade Ernest Bai Koroma with a view to relieve him from the offices of Leader and Chairman of the APC is not only perceived by many as misplaced, misdirected but also totally at variance with provisions in the Party Constitution of 1995.
Comrade, I am writing this letter to you in my personal capacity to remind you that the removal of Elected Party Members from their positions can only be determined by the outcome of decisions taken at recognized Party Structures and not by mere correspondence between yourself and the Secretary General of the APC.
The thrust of your letter of appeal seems to suggest that Comrade Ernest Bai Koroma’s occupancy of the Leadership and Chairmanship of our glorious Party is irregular. It must be noted, however, that you failed to provide a strong argument to justify your claim that the Leader and Chairman should be relieved of one or both of the offices mentioned. And may I state that a request of this nature cannot be based on flimsy and wishful thinking as your argument should have been covered by appropriate reference to the Party’s Constitution.
There is no indication that Comrade Ernest Bai Korma is occupying the two positions ultra vires the Party Constitution, in fact his present occupancy of the two offices is consistent with the provisions in our Party Constitution strongly supported by a court ruling.
May I also emphasize that precedent is very clear that past Leaders of our Party also occupied two and sometime three positions while in office. President Siaka Stevens, one of the founders of our great party was not only Leader of the All People’s Congress Party but also Chairman of the Party apart from the fact that on more than three occasions he was the flag bearer of our Party during elections. May I remind you, dear Comrade that President Siaka Stevens at one time was actually elected Secretary General of the Party at a time when he was also Leader, Chairman, President and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, yet the entire membership of the Party supported him and remained loyal to him.
On the mode of selecting running mates and the tenure of the Leader and Chairman himself, may I remind you that these are matters that can be politically discussed at the highest organ of the Party, the National Congress.
I have endeavoured to raise these issues because your letter to the Secretary General is full of weak arguments deliberately tailored to incite the Party membership against the current Leader and Chairman of the Party. Why was this matter of so called multiple appointments not raised when Dr. Siaka Stevens, our great Leader, and President Joseph Saidu Momoh occupied the position of President, Leader and Chairman of the same APC Party? We need not over emphasize the point that occupying two offices as Leader and Chairman of our glorious Party is a precedent which is part of the history of our Party.
To remind ourselves of the recent past the matter of restricting one position to an incumbent, was contested by you and others and your view to hold on to the 1995 Constitution was accepted by a court of law. Now, you want us to go back to the Constitution which you rejected without going back to Congress.
May I state, that if you and party members who hold your view intend to effect any change in the occupancy of the Leadership and Chairmanship of the Party, this can be done through the popular will of the general membership of the Party not by a mere handful of people. Furthermore, your criticism relating to the infrequent meetings of NAC is a clear indication that you have not grasped the fact that a group of respected members of NAC like yourself can cause a meeting of NAC to be convened as you really do not need the Leader and Chairman of the Party to convene ‘many’ meetings which the Secretary General’s Office can easily do.
As I conclude, I can only state that so-called appeal for an investigation into the Party political activities of Comrade Ernest Bai Koroma with a view to relieving him from the offices of Leader and Chairman of the APC, can only be seen as a deliberate step by you to ferment internal feud in an effort to destabilize a Party that has remained stable for the past eight years.
You are a highly respected member of the Party and I expected you to respectfully take a complaint as serious as the suggestion that the President should be removed from political offices, should be taken to National Congress for deliberation to avoid any breaking of the law and to avoid interfering with provisions entrenched in our Party Constitution.
At the moment it is legally and practically impossible to remove Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma from the position of Leader and Chairman of the APC. Also, even as I respect you a s a dedicated member of the APC may I state that in our determination to exhibit love for our Party, the approach should not be based on throwing spanners in the works, for you fully understand the consequences of being saddled with a destabilized Party, a Party which our founding Fathers sweated profusely to build for future generations.
Your Friend and Comrade,
Hon. Ibrahim Ben Kargbo
Cc: Leader and Chairman of the APC Party
Secretary General APC Party
The Vice Chairman APC Party
