It has reported that the erstwhile President of the Republic of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma has left the shores of Sierra Leone to Abidjan, Ivory Coast to attend the West Africa Elders Forum (WAEF) quarterly strategic meetings. 

Sierra Leone’s former President Ernest Bai Koroma departed Freetown today Monday, 21st November 2022, to attend the West African Elders Forum’s (WAEF) Quarterly Strategy Meeting in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire. After giving power to his successor, Maada Bio, Ernest Bai Koroma was called to be among decision makers in the West Africa under the canopy of WAEF.

Delegates of this meeting including it’s Chairman, former President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan, former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson-Sirlief, Yayi Boni of Benin, Dr Mohamed Chambas, the former United Nations special representative for West Africa.

On the 23rd March of this year, the West African Elders Forum convened a strategy meeting that was held in Abuja, Nigeria. The meeting assessed the emerging threats to democracy, peace, and stability in the West African sub-region. Discussions were especially focused on recent military interventions, the continuing threats posed by violent extremism, the persistence of human trafficking, and the dire socio-economic conditions facing the bulk of the populace.

Among other issues, the upcoming quarterly meeting will discuss the ‘State of Political Development in West Africa’, with a focus on the ‘Threats and Opportunities’ relating to ‘Peaceful Transitions’ in the subregion.

WAEF would also review its own journey since its establishment, as well as deliberate on how to consolidate and expand its efforts within West Africa and in other regions.

The Meeting will be held on 22nd November, 2022 at the Sofitel Abidjan Hotel Ivoire, in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire. Former President Koroma will return to Freetown on 23rd November, 2022.