PART 2 : PRESIDENT KOROMA’S CONTINUED CHAIRMANSHIP AFTER 2018 WILL BE A BLESSING TO THE APC

THE idea that President Ernest Bai Koroma will be Chairing the APC after the 2018 elections riled opposition elements in Sierra Leone.

They are the ones who have opposed the idea for good reason.

1. They know that the continued presence of President Koroma will help to continue to solidify and concretize the ascendancy of the APC in Sierra Leone . If nothing else, the opposition is very conscious of the political weight of President Koroma. They know that the President’s political acumen and wisdom, which carry a tremendous weight in the political arena, will help to make the APC an even better political party.

2. The SLPP would want the APC to flounder and fall into bad times after President Koroma , as it has happened to them after the late President Kabbah. They are praying that the APC becomes fragmented and chaotic , but with the continued presence of President Koroma, they know it will not happen. President Koroma is a pacifist , peacemaker and a consensus- builder who will continue to help the APC to remain United and stronger after the elections. Sierra Leone has enjoyed its best period of peace and tranquility under the presidency of Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma and they know that the same thing will happen to the APC under his life chairmanship. They do not want that. They know that the more United the APC, the stronger the APC. The media of the very SLPP had been speculating about the turmoil that will engulf the APC when President Koroma leaves . Well, if it is something they are wishing to happen, they know now that with the continued presence of President Koroma as Chairman of the APC, it will not happen. This is one of the reasons they are opposing the plan. The SLPP never oppose anything in the interest of the nation.

3. With President Koroma, the nation- developer and nation – builder as its Chairman, the SLPP and other opposition elements know fully well that the APC will maintain its competitive edge and supremacy over them. While the new President is expected to be a man or woman with his / her own mind , ideas and initiatives, it is a fact that the presence of President Koroma will provide great influence and motivation to him or her to continue the impressive Koroma socio-economic and political development agenda. The SLPP hate to see Sierra Leone developed by the APC.

4. President Koroma’s legacy of national development , which will be the best ever left by a Sierra Leone President since Independence , will continue to mock the SLPP, if President Koroma remains as Chairman of the APC and does not disappear into political oblivion. His presence will always remind them about their spectacular failures. It is a fact that no SLPP President or government has matched the national development achievements of heads of state who ruled Sierra Leone under the banner of the APC.

5. The opposition know that the President’s character is magnificent and unimpeachable. Since he came to power, the opposition has tried desperately to impugn the reputation of the President, but they have never had any proof to use to build upon their smear campaign. As he gets ready to leave power, President Koroma’s national and international respect and image remain astronomically high , which is the reason that the IMF and the World Bank continue to provide loans to the country on the eve of elections, something they do not normally do where they suspect that the outgoing President will fritter away the funds or use it to campaign in the elections. With President Koroma as Chairman of the APC, the opposition is aware that his international respect and prestige will transfer to the new APC government. The local and international stakeholders will continue to treat the APC with seriousness and respect and the SLPP would not like that to happen, so they want to see the back of the President as soon as the elections results are announced.

But the APC has always been far better than the SLPP when it comes to political strategy and national development.

Part 3 is coming.