An executive of the ruling party government has called on the people of Sierra Leone, the members of the All Peoples Congress and the international community to allow for President Julius Maada Bio to be allowed to do his two terms.
The Sierra Leone Peoples Party stalwart made the appeal at the office of this medium yesterday when he paid a courtesy visit to the newspaper’s offices in Central Freetown.
He said if anyone is concerned with Sierra Leone making steady economic progress including the peace and security of the state, they should allow for the president to continue his second term and make way for new sets of people to compete for the president’s office.
“It has already been a year since the last presidential election. Despite all that has happened since then we have managed as a society to remain peaceful. We have all agreed that the ballot box is the only way to attain to the presidency of this country and nothing else. It will not take any action that will destabilize the state to become president of Sierra Leone. If we have managed to remain this peaceful a year after 24 June 2023 then we can still do so up to 2028,” said the SLPP stalwart.
The former cabinet minister during the President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah regime told this medium that not many people across the country are happy with the confusion that has gripped the country since the announcement of President Bio as the winner of last year’s presidential elections. He said the fear and worries are really negatively impacting the social fabric of the country as there are too many talks of protest actions and people talking about street battles and such.
“Coming from an era where our main concern was to maintain the peace and security of the state after the war, I am for peace to prevail. I also think that this is also the hope of everyone in and outside Sierra Leone that at the end of the day this country will not be allowed to return to the dark days of the 1990’s,” the SLPP stalwart reminded the nation.
He said there are many people that will want to see the nation return to those days. Calling them “wicked people” he said they are the type that will want to paint President Bio and the SLPP as warmongers but would at every turn of the way threaten to bring people onto the streets which action could only lead to one outcome.
“If you as a leader finds yourself and your citizens being threatened by people on social media that they will cause mayhem on the streets across the country and you have had, based on past events, such threats realized, what will you do to let your people know that you will protect the state? So it is the president’s work to protect the country from any threat local or foreign,” he said in an attempt to clarify President Julius Maada Bio’s statement that he will meet bullet for bullet anyone that plans on taking to the streets to threaten and disturb the peace and security of the people of Sierra Leone.
The ranking SLPP stalwart is also part of the ruling party executive said the nation will do well if it accepts the situation as it is that President Bio will finish his second term, adding that no one should expect for the SLPP to accept any recommendation from the Tripartite Committee that will see the SLPP give in to demands for any new, rerun or runoff election.
“As far as we are concerned the 24 June 2023 elections are over. They have already been decided. The president was declared winner of those elections the same way Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma was declared winner of the 2012 elections that we for the sake of peace accepted although we were told to go to the police. Since we have already done a year, let us as a nation continue to move forward and do all we can to see this nation make progress instead of people always threatening us with bloodshed from street protests. The SLPP will not agree to any talk that President Bio should step down and make room for anyone to take over his seat as president of this country. The die is already cast. Let us allow for the will of the people to prevail as it did when the incumbent was announced as winner of the 24 June2023 elections. Let us as a country give peace a try. I am calling on the people of Sierra Leone, the APC and the international community to allow for President Bio to finish his second term and keep Sierra Leone safe,” he pleaded.
