August 10, 2016 By Mohamed Massaquoi
The Minister of Information and Communication has stated his intension to join the leadership race in the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC).
Mohamed Bangura, in an exclusive interview with our reporter, said he was determined to lead the APC to another electoral victory in the 2018 presidential election and to succeed President Ernest Bai Koroma, adding that the latter needed to handover to a competent Sierra Leonean who can unify the old and younger generations of party.
The ruling APC is putting their house in order to organise their delegates conference, reportedly slated for next year, ahead of the 2018 presidential, parliamentary and Local Council elections.
A lot of prominent individuals have declared their intension to become leader and chairman of the APC and to replace President Ernest Bai Koroma.
Bangura, who until recently was Chairman and Leader of the United Democratic Movement(UDM), is reported to have been holding meetings with APC stakeholders in his home town of Sanda and other places in the country where the APC has gained a foothold over the past seven years.
“I am entering this debate with an open mind, I am sure it is a difficult venture but I am sure at the end of the day I will succeed because I have been challenging issues for bike riders, students, women and children, among other things, all in the interest of strengthening the APC led administration,” he said.
Bangura cut his political teeth with the Peoples Movement for Democratic Change in 2005, and went on to chair the party. He reportedly influenced the decision of the party’s presidential candidate, Charles Francis Margai, to endorse the APC candidate in the 2007 presidential run-off election, largely against the wishes of grassroots PMDC members.
He fell out with Mr. Margai and formed his own political party, the UDM, which he chaired. As the party’s flag bearer, he openly declared support for President Koroma ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
As Chairman of the All Political Parties Registration Commission, Bangura worked very hard to maintain peace among political parties.
“The name Mohamed Bangura has now become a household name; a good number of the youths and elders of the party are interested in my candidature,” he averred.
However, political pundits have opined that Bangura would face a lot of opposition in his bid to gun for the top position in the ruling party, taking into consideration his political journey and personality.
They say he is seen more as Pro-Ernest Koroma than Pro-APC, thus he could be challenged for not being a “full-blooded” member of the party.