By Amadu Barrie
A former politician in the 1980s, Dr. Shamsu Mustapha, has on Wednesday 13th February, 2019 declared his right for the position of Paramount Chief in the Peje West Chiefdom in the Kailahun District. The election is scheduled for the 27th February, 2019.
Declaring his right to the declaration officer and team at Bunumbu II court Barrie, Dr. Shamsu Mustapha said he is the son of late P.C. Maada Kpai Mustapha Ngebeh IV, who died in 2011. He said his great grandfather was the first Paramount Chief of Peje West Chiefdom, who, according to him, signed the treaty with colonial masters in 1890. He said since that time no other ruling house in the history of that chiefdom had ever ruler Peje West Chiefdom.
Dr. Shamsu Mustapha said, after the death of his beloved father, his uncle, late Eric Mustapha, was elected in 2013 and died in 2016. He had ruled thechiefdom for only three years. He told the people of Peje West chiefdom that he decided to contest for the position of Paramount Chief because his people had suffered so long without any development in the chiefdom, noting that the chiefdom lacks good roads among others.
He told the Declaration Officer and the two Assessor Paramount Chiefs that his main rivals wanted to create problems for him to be disqualified. According to him, a Commission of Inquiry was set against him by the former government of late Joseph Saidu Momoh in 1988.
“I am a free man and have clean record because the Commission found nothing against me,” he said.
Dr. Mustapha said he was 28 years when he joined politics. He said he contested as a Member of Parliament for the then Kailahun North Constituency in 1982 and went unopposed. Under the regime of late President Siaka Steven and he was appointed Deputy Minister of Finance.
He said when late President Joseph Saidu Momoh took power in November, 1985 he was also appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, but later in 1988 the late President Joseph Saidu Momoh hated him because he thought Dr Shamsu was supporting late Francis Minah for the Presidency in 1985. He provided a document to the Declaration Officer to ascertain his claim of right.
The main rivals of Dr. Shamsu Mustapha are Retired Captain Roland Bockarie Musa Kaju, Eric Mustapha Junior and Toah Bendu Mustapha. They are all not satisfied with Dr. Shamsu Mustapha, but none of them could express their dissatisfaction to the Declaration Officer, maintaining that he had a criminal record, which could disqualify his candidature to run for the position of Paramount Chieftaincy in the Peje west Chiefdom.
Earlier, the Assessor Chief, PC Henry Fagawah of Falla Wandor Chiefdom in the Kenema District, warned the Chiefdom Councillors not to crown a new paramount chief that does not belong to a ruling house. He called on them to assist the declaration team to do the correct job for the people of Peje West Chiefdom.
The other Assessor Chief encouraged the people of Peje West not to elect Paramount Chief by sentiment but to vote for the person that has the Chiefdom at heart.
Out of the seven aspirants, four people were qualified as candidates to run for the position of Paramount Chieftaincy election- Dr. Shamsu Mustapha, from the Mustapha ruling house, Toah Benda Mustapha, from the Mustapha ruling house and Retired Captain Roland Bockarie Musa Kaju, from the Kaju ruling house.
The Declaration Officer, who is also the Provincial Secretary east, Mohamed Sheikh Kargbo, disqualified the candidature of S.S. Amara Tengbeh, Samuel Sao Amara Tengbeh, from Jokubu and Abu Mannah Taolu because there were no tangible explanations to their declaration rights.