By KABS KANU :
The All People’s Congress ( APC ) National Elections Coordinator , who is also Minister of Transport and Aviation, Mr. Leonard Balogun Koroma, has assured every partisan of the party in North America and the United Kingdom that the 13-man Presidential Peace delegation sent out to restore sanity in the party’s diaspora branches has performed their “Presidential assignment creditably and successfully in Germany and Holland and we expect nothing less in the United Kingdom and United States of America .”
HON. LEONARD BALOGUN KOROMA
Sierra Leone’s Ambasssador to the United States, His Excellency Bockarie Kortu Stevens, has also given the assurance that plans designed to ensure a smooth and successful Convention and election in North America are progressing well. Ambassador Stevens and Minister Koroma gave these assurances in separate exclusive interviews with your favourite COCORIOKO newspaper today.
For his part, Minister Logus Koroma is not only assuring fairness and neutrality but he has charged APC -NA members to become models and pace-setters. Said the Minister : ”My appeal to the North America branch of the A. P.C. is that they are the ones who should show leadership for the other diaspora branches to follow; they must be the role models and pace setters, and not the other way round . They have the largest branch and membership outside Sierra Leone and their actions and behaviour must reflect that reality.”
Mr. Koroma also told COCORIOKO that “They must be assured that the composition of the Presidential delegation ensures that the conduct of the election will be above board ; in my 42 years as A. P. C. member from a youth to an adult , I have never seen any A. P. C. Leader dispatch such a high powered delegation to conduct party affairs in the diaspora .”
Subsequently, the APC National Elections Coordinator assured all APC- NA partisans : ” On behalf of the Deputy Chairman and Leader of delegation and the National Secretary General, I want to assure all my Comrades in North America that this landmark convention and election will be credible, transparent , free and fair , and will satisfy the democratic benchmarks and ideals espoused by our Chairman and Leader, His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone . We have performed our Presidential assignment creditably and successfully in Germany and Holland and we expect nothing less in the United Kingdom and United States of America ; see you all next week.”
During his own interview, Ambassador Stevens disclosed to COCORIOKO today that the chapter presidents, who were mandated to provide the practicalities of the forthcoming Convention have met and formed a 7-man Convention Team , which will work with the 13-man peace delegation and the Ambassador himself to ensure a successful convention and elections. The original mandate given to the chapter presidents called for the formation of a 5-man team but the Secretary General of the APC, Ambassador Osman Foday Yansaneh, who is heading the peace delegation has approved the 7-man team. Ambassador Stevens said that the team has been given a limited mandate about what they are supposed to do. Whatever they plan must be approved by the presidential delegation. The peace delegation will be conducting the convention and elections.
Ambassador Stevens said that he has mandated the Washington DC Chapter to look for a hall for the convention , since the event will be held in DC.
In a move designed to ensure fairness, the presidential peace committee will also decide how many delegates will be provided by each chapter. This will bring some relief to partisans who are disturbed by information that one chapter had massed 40 delegates for the December 6, 2013 event .
The presidential team is expected to arrive in the U.S. this weekend.
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