The Financial Secretary of the Peoples Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC), Mr Sidique Janneh who recently broke ranks and bemoaned the decision by the PMDC leader to align with the All Peoples Congress (APC) in a British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC) interview, has been temporarily suspended.
This is stated in a press release issued by the PMDC’s national publicity secretary, Mohamed Bangura who later told Awoko that Mr Janneh’s suspension goes beyond retracting his disclaimer of the PMDC association with the APC.
He explained that the suspended financial secretary is currently being investigated by the disciplinary committee of the party for misconduct, adding that the party’s constitution clearly stipulates how members should behave.
The publicity secretary explained that the party agreed to support APC, disclosing that Mr. Janneh was not at the meeting where the deal was sealed with the APC.
Mr Bangura explained the score was “until after all the results were out before we can come out with a statement…”
The PMDC collectively he said, “in consultation with our regional offices and supporters concluded that the party should support Ernest Bai Koroma in the run off.”
He said, “these are deliberations which went down to the grass root (before declaring our support).
Mr Bangura revealed, “in the past few days the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) has sent delegations upon delegations from chiefs; to cabinet ministers; to former ministers and civil servants literally begging for the support of the PMDC.”
The publicity secretary stated, “now that they (SLPP) have realized that the PMDC would not support them we are going to support the APC they are coming with all kinds of childish statements.”
Mr Bangura explained what prompted their immediate decision, alleging that “Victor Reider and others had a printout poster of Charles Francis Margai and Solomon Berewa with a statement that these two parties have merged together circulating those posters to our people in the provinces confusing them.” He went on “they even went to the radio to say that the two parties have merged.” “So after we received those disturbing news we convened an emergency meeting where we agreed that the leader should use the opportunity on his birthday to announce our support for the APC,” he explained. Coupled with that, the publicity secretary averred, “we were also tipped that the SLPP are making a delegation to meet the leader which would be lead by J. B Dauda.”
“In order to save the SLPP and to save our people from the confusion we thought it was important for our leader to announce our intention with the APC on that night” he said.
He emphasized that their leader does not make unilateral decisions, that it was a collective decision of the party across the country to support Ernest Bai Koroma.”
Mr Bangura cautioned the SLPP’s publicity secretary, saying he should mind the affairs of the SLPP “if I were him and not worry about the PMDC” adding “he has still not learnt from his past mistakes which he is supposed to correct and pay more attention in propagating the ideas and objectives of his party,” the PMDC publicity secretary said.
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