John Sisay goes underground
June 14, 2016 By Mohamed Massaquoi
Political maneuvering within the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) is getting interesting on a daily basis, especially when President Ernest Bai Koroma is yet to announce his successor.
It is the view of many Sierra Leoneans that the president would announce his successor ahead of the APC party delegates’ conference as a strategy to ease tension among aspirants for the position of flag bearer of the party in the 2018 presidential poll.
The APC constitution makes provision to either select or elect their flag bearer and many party members that such an important decision should be made by senior members of the party, and not by the president alone.
Many individuals have developed interest in the leadership of the APC party, prominent among them are John Bono Sisay, Joseph F. Kamara, Almamy P. Koroma, and Moseray Fadika.
Each and every one of them is fighting hard to influence party supporters to endorse them for the said position.
Three leading candidates – John Sisay, Joseph Kamara and Moseray Fadika – have been traversing the country with their support groups, engaging in public activities to canvass support.
However, since President Ernest Koroma appointed Joseph Kamara as Attorney General and Minister of Justice, a good number of these candidates have gone underground.
Reports gathered from the Bonoh Sisay campaign team intimated that their candidate has gone underground not to escape from political realties on ground, but to prove to his opponents that the best way out in Sierra Leone politic is not about talking much but doing the work by engaging relevant stakeholders at various levels of society.
“I quite agree that Mr. Sisay is playing safe in the race. Again, we don’t want him to be going around playing cheap politics. However, some days back, we provided some items to the Muslim communities across the country as part of our Ramadan gift. We want to assure our numerous supporters that Sisay is still interested in the leadership after the mandate of President Koroma [expires] and I am sure he is among the best candidates,” said Sylvester Swarray.
“The APC is a family and I am sure that when the day comes, the party’s leadership and delegates would make a wise decision not only in the interest of the APC but that of the country as a whole. Because the APC is positioned to win by 2018 with a landslide victory, that is why we need a candidate like John Sisay who is youthful, well connected and can interact with people at every level,” he asserted.
He added that Mr. Sisay was not only focused on winning the hearts and minds of APC members, but also Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad who were yearning for a credible successor to President Koroma.