The Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) has welcomed the Independent Governance Review (IGR) report but questioned how it identified potential flagbearer aspirants without official declarations of intent.
Moses Mambu, the party’s national publicity secretary, raised the concerns while speaking on AYV’s Wake Up Sierra Leone, saying the party accepted the report in good faith but disputed the process used to compile the list.
“For us at the SLPP, we respect what the IGR did, we welcome the report, and we accept it in good faith. We want to caution our membership and people who have an interest in running for the flag not to allow the report to slow you down”
Mambu questioned the basis for naming individuals as potential contenders, arguing that neither the party nor the people listed had formally declared their intentions to seek the SLPP’s presidential nomination.
“How was the IGR able to manufacture those names they listed as flagbearer aspirants of the SLPP when the party or those listed names have never declared their intention to run for the flagbearer of the party?”
He maintained that the party had no officially declared presidential aspirants and said members of its executive had not been consulted during the review process.
“For us at the SLPP, we still don’t have any presidential aspirants, and all 47 of our members in the executive are delegates. And none of us was ever contacted by the IGR. So we did not know how they got their report.”
Despite the reservations, Mambu urged party members and individuals interested in contesting for the SLPP flagbearer position not to be discouraged by the report.
His remarks highlight the party’s concerns about the methodology used to identify potential presidential contenders, while reaffirming its acceptance of the IGR report in good faith.
The comments were made amid discussions over the SLPP’s potential flagbearer candidates and the process of identifying individuals who may seek the party’s nomination for the next presidential election.