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First Lady Fatima Bio has dispatched thank-you messages to two regional coordinating teams, the latest in a series of grassroots engagements that political observers view as part of a broader positioning campaign ahead of the ruling party’s 2028 flagbearer race.
Bio, who signs her public statements with the initials FMB, expressed gratitude to the Bo Coordinating Team and the Mike 91 Coordinating Team for taking “our message directly to the people.” She framed the outreach as a mission to ensure every member of the Sierra Leone People’s Party “sees and feels the work of President Bio, while also understanding that there is a woman who sees them, hears them, and believes in their voice.”
The First Lady’s activities have drawn attention amid growing internal competition within the SLPP, where multiple camps have formed around potential successors to President Julius Maada Bio, who is constitutionally term-limited. A movement tied to Bio known as “Ebema Gbi” — a Mende phrase translating to “it will not happen again” or “impossible” — has emerged as a grassroots affiliate body within the party. Supporters have speculated that the movement is positioning the First Lady as a potential flagbearer, a development that has heightened tensions within the party.
The National Coordinator of the Ebema Gbi Movement, Deputy Speaker Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, has previously clarified that President Bio is not a member of the group, describing it instead as a people-driven movement aimed at mobilising grassroots support and promoting the party’s achievements.
Bio’s message urged party members to remain “focused” and “united,” declaring that “elections are not won on Election Day, and politics is not for the faint-hearted.” She closed with the rallying cry “EBEMA GBI! From East to West, North to South — we continue the journey together.”
Political analysts note that the SLPP’s succession process has historically triggered destructive infighting, including a split that cost the party the 2007 election. The party has not formally opened nominations for the 2028 race, but jockeying among factions has intensified, with the First Lady’s camp, Chief Minister Dr David Moinua Sengeh’s Radical Inclusion Movement, and an “old guard” bloc all vying for influence.
