Presidential Spokesman, Hon. Dr. Alhaji Alpha Kanu, has told the people of Port Loko District that President Julius Maada Bio will not be removed from power through ECOMOG intervention.
Recently, audios that were circulated on social media claimed that the people of Kaffu Bullom Chiefdom were preparing to welcome the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), which is a West African multilateral armed force, to remove the President.
Hon. Dr. Alpha Kanu, who was speaking in a town hall meeting organized by the Office of the Presidential Spokesman, refuted the social media claim.
โI have listened to audio messages in the social media that the people of Kaffu Bullom Chiefdom were preparing to welcome ECOMOG which is coming to remove the elected President from office. That is a big lie. Presidential Bio is still the president of Sierra Leone until 2028,โ he told his audience.
He said President Bio is focused on delivering his manifesto promises to Sierra Leoneans through his five game changer agenda, thereby making him unfazed by those rumours.
โPresident Bio is busy going around the world making peace through his role at the UN Security Council. Please ignore those social media audios that are aimed at bringing chaos to Sierra Leone,โ he said.
He reminded the people of Lungi that the ECOMOG Logistics Depot’s construction started during the reign of former President Ernest Bai Koroma, adding that the deployment of the ECOMOG troops does not mean to remove the President from office.
โThe ECOMOG troops will never interfere in our internal politics. That is not why they will be deployed here. All of us should embrace peace and national cohesion for sustainable development,โ he admonished his audience.
Resident Minister, North-Western Region, Ambassador Umaru Bond Wurie, re-echoed that there will be no other presidential election until 2028, adding that no ECOMOG is coming to remove President Bio from office.
โWe need peace and stability in this country. No investor would like to invest in a country that has no peace and stability. Please stop peddling rumours that will divide us as a country. Politics is only practiced for three months and afterwards, we should focus on development,โ he warned his audience.
Paramount Chief Bai Koblo Queen II of Marampa Chiefdom, who represented the National Council of Paramount Chiefs, said development will not take place in a country that has conflict.
โWe should not do anything that will lead us to war again. We have seen the negative impacts of war in Sierra Leone. During our civil war, schools and hospitals were closed, women and children were suffering, and lives were lost. So, we don’t want war anymore,โ he warned people to abstain from peddling false news that will lead to war.
He said paramount chiefs are custodians of peace, noting that they should talk to their youth to stay away from violence.
“Globally, prices of foodstuffs have increased. It is not President Bioโs making to increase prices of foodstuffs. The United States, Europe, and Asia countries with big economies, are grappling with rising cost of basic commodities. We should not cast the blame on the President for the rising inflation in the world,โ he told his audience.
Speakers, including Members of Parliament, civil society organizations, and executives of the Bike Rider’s and Drivers Unions, among others, made commitments to fostering peace in their communities.