By Alfred Koroma
Former Member of Parliament, Hon Amara Alkalie has declared he will contest for the position of flag bearer in the All People’s Congress (APC) party for the 2023 presidential election.
“I am declaring to contest for the position of flag bearer in the APC Party for the 2023 presidential election,” the former MP declared during a press conference on Friday.
Hon. Alkalie promised to work tirelessly to unite the people of Sierra Leone by giving more recognition to Paramount Chiefs whom he referred to as the symbols of peace in their Chiefdoms and the country.
He also said he will bring transparency and unite APC, emphasizing the main opposition party needs unity and sincerity to win the next general elections.
“AS leader of the APC party, I will continue to unite members and factions of the Party,” he promised. “I will pioneer a program to modernise the APC party to serve the interests of every member of the party and every Sierra Leonean. Transparency and accountability will be the way of life in the APC party under my leadership. Diplomacy in Party politics leads to corruption. We will call things by their right names.”
“I will pay special attention to the Welfare Organ of the Party in a bid to recognise the services of our retired members and veterans of our Party,” he added, saying his vision for Sierra Leone and the APC will give more insight about his developmental program for Sierra Leone.
Born in Kamawanka town, Sella Limba Chiefdom in Karene District, Hon Amara Alkalie is no stranger to the political race of Sierra Leone. He joined APC in 1962 and later became MP in 1986, representing Bombali North Constituency for six years under the party.
He is an Electrical Engineer by profession with a Master of Science (M. Sc.) Degree and worked as an Electrical Engineer at the Sierra Leone Electricity Corporation (S LEC) presently known as EDSA for five years – 1977-1982.
During the brutal and Bloody Military Coup in Sierra Leone, Alkalie flew to neighbouring Guinea where he was granted a Political Asylum by the Guinean government. There he spent couple of years with the former late President J. S. Momoh and some former Ministers.
Speaking to the press on Friday ,Hon. Alkalie said he played a significant mediation role to negotiate peace between Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma and M. L. Bangura and his group before Koroma became President in 2007.
He furthered that after 2018 elections, he has been heading a group of loyal and committed members of APC as Chairman of the party’s Peace Facilitation Group, which negotiated peace between the former National Executive of the APC and the National Reformation Movement (NRM).
These negotiations led to the signing of the MOU between the NRM, former National Executive and Stake Holders of the Party and the adoption of the APC 2022 Constitution in Makeni at meetings chaired by our Former President Ernest Bai Koroma, he said, saying the Peace Facilitation Group has successfully negotiated peace between factions and members of the Party.
