A group of APC dissidents in London calling itself the APC Concerned Group, has strongly condemned the present APC leadership and has called for fresh party elections to resolve the differences in the party, get rid of the court cases and prepare for the 2007 elections.
In a lengthy memorandum, part of which is published below, the group, represented by Abu Bakarr Kamara and Sheku Ibrahim Conteh,also expressed disssatisfaction with the performance of the London branch of the party and it’s perceived support of the Ernest Koroma executive:
APC Concerned Group Memorandum
We the members of the APC Concerned Group in the United Kingdom, meeting in
Peckham in South London on Sunday 19th March 2006, addressed ourselves to
the deep crisis in which our party the APC is involved. We considered how,
as a group, we might try to intervene to resolve our common problems, in
respect of the 2007 parliamentary and Presidential elections, through
urgent
action. Despite differences of approach that affect the way we analyse and
judge the crisis that has rendered our party woefully ineffective, we are
unanimous in our perception that drastic action must be taken now. The
current leadership and executive must be challenged and removed if we should
stand any chance of success in the 2007 elections. This memorandum should be
seen as a CALL TO ACTION reflecting our thoughts on the way forward.
BACKGROUND
The APC Concerned Group is a faction that has emerged from the membership
and
supporters of the APC here in the UK. In actual fact the group is really
not
new. It has been in existence as an informal group since the dawn of the
last election when the current intra- party problems started. It has served
as a useful forum for dissenting voices within the party resident here in
the UK. Over the years, on numerous occasions, some of its members have met
and exchanged views on wide ranging national and international matters as
they impact on our party affairs and indeed Sierra Leone in general. We
often like to describe our selves as people of like minds. In this regard
we
have had useful briefs and in depth discussions with some of the key
individuals amongst your group when they are here in London.
Our objective is to provide support for all those that have suffered
intimidation and relegated to the margins of our party by men of odious
character simply because they oppose corruption and especially tribalism-
that hideous cankerworm in our body politic. Since the National Delegates
Conference of Port Loko we took a decision to intensify and consolidate our
activities because we feel that people need to know that the National
Executive and the Executive here in London, do not represent the
authentic
voice of the APC or at the very least they do not speak for us.
WE are deeply appalled and incensed by the flagrant act of constitutional
illegalty and the absolute disregard and contempt for the rule of law
perpetrated by the leadership and the National Executive. This issue as we
all know, has crippled our party, stifled its growth, snuffed-out its
spirit
of dynamism, relegating us to a lacklustre performance in the affairs of
the
nation. Needless to say that we condemn the defilement of our party’s
constitution with the uttermost vigour and support fully the litigation now
underway to dislodge the Freetown National Executive and to restore the
culture of respect for the rule of law in the conduct of the affairs of
our
party.
We are convinced that this quest is crucial especially as it touches on the
prevailing international perception as to why Africa has failed in the task
of nation building. In a study entitled "The Report On the Commission For
Africa" a study sponsored and published by the British government, "poor
governance" was identified as a major obstacle to African development. We
could not agree more with this observation of the Commission. Without any
doubt we concur that, the tendency towards poor governance begins with
selfishness and the utter disregard for the sanctity of a democratic
constitution. The prospect of good governance must begin with the respect
for the principles of justice and fair play: values and principles
enshrined in our party’s constitution that should not be subjected to the
whim of any individual. Obviously the present predicament of our party
clearly shows that the leadership does not support this view. They believe
that the same old ways are still in vogue and it is back to business as
usual.
Given the foregoing we are now in the process of formalizing the group into
a solid force to enable us to play a more practical and useful role to help
ensure the success of our party in 2007. This desire constitutes our main
objective. However, the reasons for our decision to act now
are as follows:
(1) The London Executive is shamefully beholden to the National
Executive in its endorsement and recognition of Honourable Ernest Bai
Koroma
as the sole Presidential candidate, Leader/Chairman as well as Leader of
the
opposition, effectively foreclosing the chances of other members to serve
the party. The Executive attended the Convention in Port Loko without a
mandate from the membership here. A situation that was highly irregular.
(2) We believe that the Port Loko Convention represents our party’s
most ignominious moment ever. We doubt its legality. However what is
clearly
without doubt is that politically the Convention was a sham, for it gave
an official imprimatur to blatant acts of corruption, lawlessness, and
indiscipline. Most important it did not reflect remotely the true strength
and potential of the party. It simply mirrored the depth of the schism and
exposed the naked ambition of an unscrupulous and capricious few. Surely
the
convention was the straw that broke the camel’s back, it was time to draw
the line and go public.
Abu Bakrr Kamara
Sheku Ibrahim Conteh
Photo: Ernest Bai Koroma, APC leader.
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