President Julius Maada Bio and First Lady  Fatima Maada Bio on Friday, 3rd February 2023, urged the Women’s Wing of the ruling party, Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) to settle their differences and bridge existing gaps so as to enhance peace and development in the party.

The President said: “As the leader of the SLPP, I am kindly begging you to forget about your differences and work together for the common goal. There should be no more camps. You should forgive each other,” said the President

“We cannot develop Sierra Leone when the potential of half of our population, which is women, is locked up. As long as I am President, women will remain an integral part of our country’s development. To show that I am committed to empowering women, three weeks ago, I assented to the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Act 2022,”

Speaking on his commitment to women and girls, he noted that, he has committed himself and his government to protect school girls and preventing teenage pregnancy, which was so rampant before he came to power, this has now decreased by 33% through the ‘Hands off our Girls’ campaign, a statistic that underpins the importance he attaches to women’s education and empowerment.

First Lady, Fatima Maada Bio, in her presentation applauded President Bio’s presence at the Women’s Council Conference where she serves as the Public Relations Officer (PRO) saying this showed that he was committed to promoting the affairs of women in the country.

She called on the SLPP women to come out in their numbers to contest for elective positions such as Members of Parliament (MPs), Councillors, Mayors, and Chairpersons of local councils and urged other women to mobilize and embark on a campaign that will lead to the election of women in these positions.