By KABS KANU
From all indications, members of the opposition All People’s Congress ( APC) are about to take their stand to avoid the party being embroiled in another crisis . An emergency National Advisory Committee ( NAC ) meeting was called to day to decide on the fate of Dr. Samura Kamara and Mr. Chernor Maju Bah ( Chericoco ) , whose terms as National Leader and Deputy National Leader have expired and, according to the APC constitution , are supposed to step down.
DR. SAMURA KAMARA AND CHERICOCO : What are they planning to do ?
Both men have served as Presidential candidate and running mate respectively for two elections—2018 and 2023 and cannot act in the same capacity for a third election.
But this constitutional issue has seriously divided the embattled party in no time since the terms of the two politicians expired. One group of partisans are demanding that the dictates of the constitution must be strictly obeyed to show that the APC abides by its own constitution while another group that is loyal to Samura Kamara has started writing articles on social media, agitating that the former presidential candidate and his running mate should stay on.
The fears being expressed by partisans who have adopted the middle road is that if the matter is not handled carefully, it will end up in the APC being snared and embroiled in another sticky legal quagmire that detractors of the party might capitalize on to slow down or frustrate the dreams and aspirations of the party, key of which is fighting the recent rigging of the June 24, 2023 General Elections by the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party ( SLPP ) . The APC is hoping that through the internationally-mediated Tripartite dialogue that has started, involving the SLPP , the APC and international stakeholders, there are hopes of early General Elections in Sierra Leone, if it turns out to be one of the recommendations of the dialogue committee, which according to a communique signed by both the SLPP and APC and backed by international guarantors, must be implemented.
Some leading members of the APC have described this latest leadership issue as a very delicate and thorny situation that must be handled with wisdom to avoid the party being faced with another internal chaos and a likely legal problem.
One suggestion provided on social media by a concerned party member talking anonymously states: ” Why should Samura Kamara go now? The truth is the constitution says his time is up but the fact that NAC sent him to dialogue with Paopa and the dialogue is still ongoing, I believe the same NAC should use the constitution and extend his stay so that he can conclude the assignment they gave him. ”
Chief Bai Sheborah Sumana Kapen, an elder in the APC, who defected from the SLPP and once faced the same leadership issue within the SLPP, seemed to support the view above. In a widely circulated video on social media, he supported the idea of NAC extending the tenure of the two leaders due to the extenuating circumstances facing the APC presently.
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