Councilors of the Freetown City Council have come together to nominate and approve Councilor Ahmed Karim Bangura, representing Ward 443 in Aberdeen, as the acting Mayor for the municipality.

The decision to appoint Acting Mayor Bangura was made due to the pressing need for a sitting mayor to oversee important pending activities within the city. Chief Administrator of the Freetown City Council, Festus Kallay, emphasized the significance of having a mayor in place to ensure the smooth operation of the council.

Before his appointment as acting Mayor, Councilor Ahmed Karim Bangura had held various positions within the council, including Deputy Chairman in the Environmental Management Committee, membership in the Tourism Development and Job Creation Committee, and the Youth and Sports Committee.

Notably, Councilor Bangura is the longest-serving Councillor in the Council. He expressed his dedication to the city’s development, stating, “The elections are over, and it is now time for development,” while calling upon his fellow APC Councillors to unite for the betterment of Freetown.

Acting Mayor Bangura also highlighted his previous efforts in beautifying the roundabouts in the Aberdeen Communities and pledged to complete unfinished projects, with a particular focus on making Freetown a more attractive destination for tourists.

In related news, the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) Party’s local Ward Councillors, Mayors, and Chairpersons of Local Councils in Freetown boycotted the government’s planned swearing-in ceremony. This boycott is part of their ongoing protest of passive resistance against the Bio-led government, following the APC party’s allegations of fraudulent election results.

The APC’s decision to boycott the ceremony is also seen as a gesture of solidarity with the party’s executives and elected parliamentarians, who previously announced their refusal to engage in any form of governance involving the ruling SLPP and the Bio-led government, in protest of what they claim were rigged election results announced by the Electoral Commission in favor of President Bio.

In a separate development, the opposition APC leadership has accepted proposals from the United States and the Commonwealth Secretariat for dialogue to resolve Sierra Leone’s deepening political crisis. This move may hold the key to finding a peaceful and constructive solution to the ongoing political tensions in the country.