By Amin Kef Sesay
Former Head of the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone (CCSL) and popular political heavy weight, Ambassador Alimamy Petito Koroma, is currently contending with insignificant dissenting voices within the All People’s Congress (APC) Party for simply being frank to express his view that President Julius Maada Bio was, in the recent past, indeed magnanimous in his actions towards him, a statement which he made during the occasion of the 229th Anniversary of the Baptist Church on Regent Road in the central part of Freetown on Sunday 13 June 2021.
When former President Ernest Koroma was Head of State it was rumoured and alleged that Petito, as he is commonly called, financially supported many SLPP senior members including the current President, Julius Maada Bio, John Benjamin, Dr. Abass Bundu, Musa Tarawalie, and many others. Lamentably, none of those who received his support publicly disclosed that but rather turned against him calling him all sorts of names.
While some are busy castigating him others have commended Petito for being honest enough to say what President Julius Maada Bio did for him. He said the President called him and sympathized with him when he lost in his bid to come forward to be a Presidential flagbearer.
Petito furthered how President Bio sent a high powered delegation to sympathize with him upon the death of his lovely wife, Mrs. Linda Koroma.
Also, Petito was merely expressing gratitude to the President for having consoled him when he lost the flag bearer race in Makeni and his wife respectively.
Petito was simply telling his hearers that the APC party then that denied him of the flagbearer position is no more.
This medium was also made to understand that powerful members of the APC including ,Alimamy Petito Koroma, have all been systematically targeted and destroyed by forces within the very party that they claimed to be the dinosaurs of.
There is a school of thought which goes with the belief that former President Koroma tried to destroy the political career of Ambassador Alimamy Koroma when he baselessly fired him in a press release stating that, he had relieved him from his duties as Works Minister simply because of incompetence.
The ex-President later reappointed him as Ambassador to The People’s Republic of China. To make matters more difficult for the fine gentleman, when he declared his intention to run for the APC flag bearer, he was forced to resign as both member of NAC and APC Chairman Kambia District, while another flag bearer aspirant Hon. Minkailu Mansaray wasn’t relieved from his positions as NAC member and also Western Region Chairman.
In a research conducted by this medium it was learnt that at the height of the senseless eleven years bloody rebel war in Sierra Leone, while people like Ambassador Alimamy Petito Koroma and members of the Inter-Religious Council were busy in Abidjan negotiating a peace deal with the rebels, some big men were seated in their cozy air conditioning offices drinking champagne only later to enjoy the fruit of Ambassador Petito’s labour.
According to a leaked information from Makeni because Ambassador Alimamy Petito Koroma did not face one of the Commissions of Inquiry and therefore is in a better stead to be democratically elected as the APC flag bearer for 2023, he should be targeted by some clandestine forces to prevent him by all means necessary.
One indisputable fact that has been established by this medium is that
the video making the rounds about Petito hailing President Bio is a calculated ploy to tarnish his hard won character.
It must be reiterated that the only crime certain persons within the APC Party are accusing Petito of is welcoming President Bio in the Baptist Church.
In an exclusive interview with this medium Petito says he takes full responsibility for the statement he made adding how he believes he didn’t do any wrong stating how an attitude of gratitude should be the mantra of every good and meaningful citizen.
He further intimated how he was right to express gratitude for times the President stood by him maintaining that those thinking they can score a political goal should have a rethink.
