By Foday Moriba Conteh
The Alliance Democratic Party (ADP) has disclosed that the party will be holding its national delegate conference in July this year after the mandated period of the Caretaker Committee. This disclosure was made on Wednesday 10th March 2021 during a press conference held at the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists Hall on Campbell Street in Freetown.
In his address, Acting Head of the Alliance Democratic Party (ADP) Caretaker Committee, George A Macaulay, said the occasion will be a remarkable one that will mark a turning point in the history of the Alliance Democratic Party (ADP) furthering that the theme for the occasion is “Repositioning the Alliance Democratic Party for Unification, Reformation and Progress”.
He said in that regard they would like to assure all and sundry that, they are not converging to antagonize, victimize or intrigue but to put the record straight and restore the lost confidence of the Honourable members and supporters of the Alliance Democratic Party (ADP), adding that society does not go bad because of bad elements but because good people refuse to be vocal on issues affecting society.
George A Macaulay disclosed that it is vividly stated in the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC) Act of 2002 PART Ill – REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES SECTION Il (1) “where any association of persons formed to participate in shaping the political will of the people, disseminate information on political ideas, social and economic programmes of national character and to sponsor candidates for presidential, parliamentary and local government elections wishes to be registered as a political party, it shall apply to the Commission to be registered as a political party”, adding that that was why three men from the Diaspora, Osman Thorley, Ibrahima Soumah and Mohamed Kamarainba Mansaray and two men from Freetown, David Gbla, Gershon Rhodes, with the advice of Lucien Momoh, the Head of Outreach at PPRC sat in the conference room of the PPRC in 2014 and decided to form a political movement named the Alliance Democratic Movement (ADM) which later transformed into a full-fledged political party, the Alliance Democratic Party (ADP).
He lamented that contrary to the aforementioned the affairs of the ADP had not been conducted as a political party but seemingly as a social club since its inception, and that the party’s affairs had been controlled by one person, in the capacity as Chairman and Leader which earned the party the sobriquet a one man show, furthering that people didn’t join the ADP because of personal ties but because of the values stated in its ideology and vision.
It is against this backdrop, he said, certain brave and noble members took the bull by the horn and made a petition to the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC) which culminated into a Ruling on the 25th January, 2021 that witnessed the disbandment of the National Executive Body to be succeeded by a Caretaker Committee.
He revealed that the ADP is now poised to make a giant leap on the political landscape in the country furthering that there is need for a change in the narrative of the politics of our beloved nation.
The Acting Head of the Caretaker Committee said the ADP is making a clarion call to every member of the party who has resigned for one reason or the other to come on board in order to make the ADP a formidable force to reckon with which he said is a clear manifestation that the Caretaker Committee of the ADP has open arms to embrace everyone because everybody is important.
He used the opportunity to inform all that the ADP will soon be engaging in a massive farming project with the theme: “Operation Feed the Nation” – “Grow What We Eat and Eat What We Grow” of which he described as first of its kind saying it is not impossible but rather possible.
“The Alliance Democratic Party has started demonstrating meaningful contributions towards national development among its leadership in the person of Ibrahima Soumah Aka Brima Togo who constructed a paved road at Fisher Street and other areas; constructed bore hole water wells in Lunsar and its environs and also constructed a twelve-classroom school building at Mamamah in the Koya Chiefdom,” he revealed.
He ended by appealing to the electorates and especially the youths of Sierra Leone to consider the Alliance Democratic Party as theirs in the 2023 Presidential and Parliamentary elections in order to realize meaningful and sustainable national development.
George A Macaulay encouraged all to take advantage of opportunities to empower themselves by building their capacity and be sober minded furthering that they should not be allowed to be misguided by gimmicks and rhetoric.
Foundation Executive Member, Mohamed Koholifa Bangura, also noted that as a party they are very certain that convening a National Delegates Conference will be remarkable and as well mark a turning point in the history of their party.
He noted that the Political Party Registration Commission made some ruling relating to wrangling within the party dispute bordering the party.
He also appealed to the electorates and especially the young people of Sierra Leone to consider the Party as theirs in the 2023 Presidential and Parliamentary elections in order to realize meaningful and sustainable national development.
The 2018 aspirant for the Kenema Mayoral seat, Fatimah Mummy Dugba, expressed dissatisfaction against the then leadership of the party, adding that the Eastern Region produced the highest number of candidates in the 2018 elections under the ticket of the ADP party.
She disclosed that during the 2018 elections all their candidates played critical roles towards the development of the party which made some people in the Eastern part of the country voted for the ADP Party.
According to her, the ADP is endeavouring to remove the political scales on the eyes of Sierra Leoneans and serve as an eye opener for the benefit and development of the country.
It against this backdrop, she called on all members of the party to embrace each other and put all differences aside for the betterment of the ADP party as the party is poised to hold its National Delegates Conference.
