In what has turned out to be a shocking declaration, the people of Koinadugu, one of the main opposition All Peoples’ Congress (APC) party strongholds, have overwhelmingly decided to cross over from the APC to the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples’ Party (SLPP). The former APC supporters who made the declaration recently at a packed event in Koinadugu have assured the President of victory, despite all the issues of the past five years under his stewardship of the state and economy.
The declaring former APC supporters have assured President Julius Maada Bio and the SLPP of a decisive first round victory that will have no need for a runoff to decide on a winner. They predict a repeat of 2018, ‘except that this time around there will not be a runoff’, they assured.
While there have been daily complaints from citizens across the country of hardships, with runaway prices and daily rise in the exchange rates between the leone and major world currencies, the people of Koinadugu, with this large delegation that crossed over to the ruling SLPP, are in effect saying that they have felt the development strides of the New Direction regime these past five years and have no problem with President Bio and the SLPP continuing for a second term mandate to finish what they had started.
Speaking at the occasion, one of the former APC stalwarts, who said he was part of the APC’s organising board, said he left the APC for the SLPP because of President Bio’s many developments since he took over in 2018. Given more time, they believe that President Bio can make significant development gains for the nation that will improve on the people’s quality of life.
The group of former APC supporters in Koinadugu who crossed over to the SLPP praised President Bio for his accomplishments in the provision of electricity, enabling them to save money with the introduction of the Free Quality Education scheme where government assumes the cost and other financial burdens associated with schooling in government and government assisted schools. The savings they have made from not paying school fees have gone into taking care of other pressing needs of their families. They said with every district boasting of regular electricity supply, their children can stay up late into the night studying.
It must be recalled that during his crossing over speech, the former Vice President of Sierra Leone that finished the second term of Chief Sam Sumana who had been sacked by President Ernest Bai Koroma of the APC, Victor Bockarie Foh said that President Bio had accomplished more in five years than the EBK regime did in ten years.
With close to a month to go before the 24 June elections, if such mass declarations continue to be made on the side of the SLPP, it will surely be a herculean task for the main opposition to assure Sierra Leoneans of the victory they hope will change the current state of hardship for prosperity, something that is the hope of every well meaning Sierra Leonean.