“Minimize Personal Ambition” Solo B. Warns SLPP Flagebearers

By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay & Mariama B. Bah

Sierra Leone former Vice President and leader of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) Solomon Berewa has warned members of the party especially those that are vining for position of the party to minimize personal ambition and let the party interest come forward.

The former Vice President was speaking to TRACE NEWS at his resident over the weekend.

He went on to say when he was leading the party; things were going on very peacefully but now everything has changed. 

“This is one of the things that boggled me more than anything. When I was in the party there was no infighting but after my departure, things began to go bad, the infighting began and various factions emerged. They are not doing the party any good. For a party to be successful, they must be united if they are not united how they can win an election?”

He said now the party is going to court again “There is no unity between them, they can’t agree to give one person position. We have all these various faction, they give themselves different names. We have the pa-o-pa group, the alliance. How are you going to contest with other party and win any election, even when you are united it is very difficult to win not to talk when you are divided, with all these various faction.”

Mr. Solomon Berewa went on to say that to some of them, they loved and worked hard for the party, they felt very odd when these things are happening to their party.

He pointed out that by the time he retired from politic; he was shown by those that are vying for position as they don’t consult him to get his views on certain issues.

“Now they go their way, I am a Lawyer, I would have been able to intervene in legal matters but nobody consulted me. This is a very sad situation our party is experiencing which our ancestors would not expect to happen. That is not the SLPP that I  knew and that is not the SLPP I am expecting.

The former Vice President stressed that what he thinks should be done is this “Give up your personal ambition for the sake of SLPP. This is the only solution for the party.”

He said they don’t have ten leaders in the party.

“Let the ambition of the various people be subdued for the interest of the party. If the party wins everybody benefits but if the party louses everybody suffers.”

He encouraged them to try to get a single flagbearer to lead the party as nobody contested with him when he stood for the position and peace was raining after that, with one meeting and they spoke with one voice.