When current Transport Minister Balogun (Logus) Koroma floated the idea of a third term for President Koroma not too long ago, a lot of people did not take him seriously although it caused some uproar within and outside the government. Indeed the office of the President sent out a press release vehemently denying the rumour. Sierra Leone’s 1991 Constitution stipulates only two terms for a President.
But the rumour has refused to go away; in fact it has become more strident lately with Robin Faley, an APC parlimentarian who "cross-carpetted" from the opposition SLPP, again insisting the President needs a third term to implement his Agenda for Prosperity.
This latest onslaught has alarmed the opposition SLPP which has vowed to vigorously oppose any third term proposal for President Koroma who, it must be noted, did not comment on Faley’s statement. No reprimand, no denial.
The rumour has also agitated some APC politicians who have been hoping to replace Koroma in 2018. One of them, Mohamed Kamarainba Mansaray, a young politician who started his campaign for the presidency last year, was allegedly told by the party secretariat in Freetown that there there is no record of him being an APC party member. He was also warned recently to stop using the party’s logo in his campaign. This has thrown him and his supporters into anguish. Many of them are now saying the President wants to run again. A veteran APC politician, Hassan Gbassay Kanu’s name has recently come up, so was that of Alimamy Petito Koroma, the sacked former Works Minister. Some people are of the opinion that the strongest opposition to the third term idea will come from within the APC and not from the SLPP which is currently very weak with intra-party feuds and low number of seats in parliament.
Maybe President Ernest Koroma (photo) would publicly address the issue or continue to remain silent. But the opposition SLPP has refused to remain silent on this issue because they know if Ernest runs again he will definitely win again. They say the APC has even mobilized supporters from all over the country and has prepared T-shirts and banners for party loyalists to demonstrate all over the country in support of a third term for President Koroma.
Editor’s Note: We at the Patriotic Vanguard still do not believe President Koroma is interested in a third term. But if he comes out publicly to express support for the idea we will make our stance known. No need to put the cart before the horse.
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