STATEMENT BY THE ALL PEOPLES CONGRESS (APC) PARTY ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL MATTER REGARDING THE DISMISSAL AND APPOINMENT OF A VICE PRESIDENT BY PRESIDENT ERNEST BAI KOROMA
The National Secretariat of the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC), the party whose ideology was endorsed by the majority of Sierra Leoneans in both the 2007 and 2012 elections, wishes to inform all and sundry that it is a rejuvenated political entity that is continually committed to maintaining peace, stability, and progress in Sierra Leone.
We therefore enjoin all Sierra Leoneans to continue to be law-abiding and to totally disregard and ignore calls by the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and its surrogates masquerading as so-called civil society or pressure groups for a disruption of the status quo through civil unrest.
As far as the matter regarding the dismissal of Samuel Sam-Sumana and the appointment of Victor Bockarie Foh as Vice President of Sierra Leone by His Excellency President Ernest Bai Koroma, members of the public should note that the only competent authority to decide and declare judgement is the Supreme Court, which alone has the constitutional authority to interpret the Constitution.
As a party determined to preserve and uplift the well-being of ordinary Sierra Leoneans, we eschew any action that circumvents the due process of law or incites violence that could put public safety at risk. As a responsible party that cares for the lives and properties of our people, we therefore unequivocally condemn the press release issued by the SLPP with a motive to cause chaos and anarchy on an issue that is already before the competent court of law. Without any prejudice to the pending judicial deliberations, the SLPP needs to be reminded that during their tenure, President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah used the same supreme executive authority as a constitutional precedence to appoint RUF Leader Corporal Foday Saybana Sankoh as Vice President, thereby making redundant the elected Vice President Albert Joe Demby without any recourse to Parliament.
It is instructive and helpful to note that SLAJ has appealed to the Chief Justice to speedily put in place the mechanism for hearing the matter filed by Sam Sumana’s lawyers as soon as possible.
Also, we laud the statement by the Sierra Leone Labour Congress urging its membership to abide by the outcome of the Court action which is already before the Supreme Court.
The SLPP also needs to be reminded that President Ernest Bai Koroma’s democratic credentials, vis-a-vis respect for human rights and freedom of expression, have continuously been sterling and enviable to the extent of having declared a moratorium on the death penalty.
Therefore, the APC believes that the SLPP’s shouting over the roof is a charade deliberately initiated to create unnecessary tension and to try to divert attention from the final push being crafted by Government and its partners in eliminating the Ebola Virus Disease and re-focus our attention in pursuing the Agenda for Prosperity.
The SLPP executive, having failed to win the hearts and minds of the people of Sierra Leone, and knowing very well that a similar fate awaits them in the next elections, are now using a constitutional matter that can only be settled at the Supreme Court as a smokescreen to pursue a diabolical and dangerous agenda.
Sierra Leone was plunged into a wasteful and damaging rebel war when self- seeking and power-hungry politicians hid behind young people in the name of a worthless revolution that dragged us into the mud of history. We as a nation will therefore resist any persons, group, or force that would want to take us back into the dark alley of uncivilised actions. Be it known to them and all their associates that the All Peoples Congress (APC) is fully in support of any measures adopted by Government and the security forces in particular in maintaining law and order in our beloved Sierra Leone.
Long live the APC!
Long live Sierra Leone!
SIGNED
AMB. ALHAJI OSMAN FODAY YANSANEH
NATIONAL SECRETARY GENERAL – APC 22/03/15
