By KABS KANU
The countdown has expired for the big splash and the All People’s Congress ( APC ) – USA Branch go into the weekend’s all-important delegates Convention to elect officials who will help usher the party into the crucial 2018 Presidential, Legislative and Council elections in Sierra Leone.
The high-powered party delegation from Freetown , which was mandated to visit the diaspora and conduct elections in all the party’s branches , has arrived in the U.S. for the big convention which starts on Friday. They flew in from Canada where they held elections in Toronto and helped set the new Branch into a good footing last weekend .
The APC Elections and Diaspora Coordinator, Mr. Leonard Balogun Koroma, who is also Sierra Leone’s Minister of Aviation and Transportation , told Cocorioko that business has been successfully conducted in Canada and the various branches they visited in Europe and now they are left with APC- USA , which is considered one of the most important branches of the party .
Mr. Koroma, who was first to arrive by air on Monday , lauded members of the delegation for the hard work they had put in during the Biennial Diaspora Tour . He also commended members of the branches the delegation visited and said that from the look of things the APC is poised to win the 2018 elections.
Mr. Koroma was met on arrival at the Dulles International Airport in Washington DC on Monday by officials of the Sierra Leone Embassy to the U.S. and top officials of the APC-Washington Branch, who included their President, Mrs. Beatrice Conteh , Mr. Bobson Kamara, Madam Abie Bangalie Mansaray and Madam Mariama Lowe.
MR. LOGUS KOROMA ( SECOND FROM LEFT ) IS SEEN HERE WITH OFFICIALS WHO RECEIVED HIM AT THE AIRPORT
Then yesterday, the remaining members of the delegation , who included the Secretary General of the APC, Ambassador Osman Yansaneh , Mr. Minkailu Mansaray , among others, also arrived at the Dulles International Airport. They were met on arrival by the Deputy Ambassador to the U.S, Mr. Ibrahim Conteh and the Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Sanfa Kamara , among officials of the Washington Embassy and the APC- USA.
The delegation was then officially received by Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the U.S, His Excellency Mr. Bockarie Stevens at the Ambassador’s Lodge.
Madam Beatrice Conteh and Messrs Osman Yansaneh, Unisa Thorlu Conteh and Minkailu Mansaray
From left : Messrs Unisa Thorlu Conteh, Logus Koroma, Osman Yansaneh, Ibrahim Conteh, Minkailu Mansaray and Madam Beatrice Conteh
At the Ambassador’s Lodge : Messrs Logus Koroma, Pasco Temple, Ambassador Yansaneh, Ambassador Ibrahim Conteh , Mr. Minkailu Mansaray and Madam Beatrice Conteh
CREDIT FOR THE PHOTOS : CHAIRMAN IBRAHIM KAMARA AND UNISA THORLU CONTEH
To demonstrate the significance of the mission of the APC high-powered team, the Chairman of the Gambia Branch of the APC, Mr. Alimamy Dumbuya, sent a special message to thank APC-USA for the way they received the delegation . Said he : “Bravo, Comrades in the USA for such an excellent welcome accorded our awesome heroes and heroines , ahead of the challenge of securing a historic and solid peace , a task for which the delegation has enormously sacrificed . We wish you a successful convention . ”
On Thursday, the delegation will be traveling by road to New Jersey where they will receive a rousing welcome from the Minister Plenipotentiary to the UN, Rev. Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu, the President of the APC-New Jersey Branch, Mr. Alimamy Turay , the Coordinator of the Convention and former President of the Branch, Mr. Pavi Jalloh and top-ranking officials of the Branch .
