The APC Grassroots members have issued a stern warning to Judge Fisher’s 21-Man Interim Committee that Alfred P Conteh and the cabal will fail. 

The Organiser.net reports that, tis stern admonishment by the angry APC Grassroots supporters has come in the aftermath of the SLPP Judge Adrian Fisher’s ruling which reverberates in the APC circles with mixed feelings – a handful of APC supporters are in a positive mood while most others are feeling negative and sad.

Feeling the brunt most are the members and supporters of the APC Grassroots whose entire membership has expressed disgust and disappointment in Justice Adrian Fisher’s decision on Thursday, April 28, 2022, in the case between Alfred Peter Conteh, the complainant, and the All Peoples Congress APC party, the defendant. The APC Grassroots have made it abundantly clear that they would never support the 21-Man Interim Committee that was selected by the SLPP Judge Fisher. And the fact that Alfred Peter Conteh’s 9-Man cabal will produce the leader of the Interim Committee has only infuriated the APC Grassroots further.

“We will only listen to and abide by whatever the old APC executives headed by Alhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh and others have instructed us to do because the APC hierarchy has always stood thick and thin with the APC party during its darkest hours over the years. We will not respect Alfred Perter Conteh’s group. Never! We believe the SLPP government is using and misusing the likes of Peter Conteh and other APC traitors to destroy our beloved APC party,” a cross-section of the APC Grassroots members told the Organiser newspaper in Freetown. While the majority of the APC Grassroots are visibly adamant that they would not recognise Justice Fisher’s ruling because of the collaboration with President Julius Maada Bio’s government, there are other APC supporters who want the entire APC membership to swallow the bitterness and accept the ruling and recognise the decision of the 21-Man Interim Committee as time is not in the APC’s favour any longer.

However, the strong position already taken by the vigilant APC Grassroots supporters is a serious cause for concern for all Sierra Leoneans as having them accept the 21-Man Interim Body is very significant for the unity of the APC in particular and the peace and security in Sierra Leone in general. And considering the fact that the Grassroots supporters are in the majority and undeniably the foundation upon which the APC party rests, it is incumbent to have them on the side of the controversial Adrian Fisher’s ruling, otherwise, the future of the APC party would be gloomy and unpredictable. The gloominess of the APC in the future will automatically be good news for the ruling SLPP government of President Bio who is clearly the sole sponsor of the various breakaway APC factions and Trojan Horses that took the parent APC body to the courts in the first place.

Meanwhile, as the APC Grassroots supporters make their position clear, the APC party is also busy in the legal department looking into the ruling by Justice Fisher. The astute APC legal luminaries including Ade Macauley Esq. and others have been defending and continue to provide legal advice in the court of law for the APC party and its officials over the years. Presently, the APC defence lawyers are understandably putting two and two together in order to come up with a position statement regarding Justice Adrian Fisher’s April 28, 2022 decision. One school of taught says the APC lawyers are cogitating the possibility of pursuing the petition route against the ruling while others are weighing up the chances of avoiding the appeal process and instead go with the flow and allow things to pan out. From the look of things, it is highly probable that a petition against the judgment of Justice Fisher would take place sooner rather than later.

It remains to be seen in the next few days if the petition or no petition options will materialise. But as we go to press, the dissolution of the APC hierarchy and the disbandment of the APC National Advisory Committee NAC – the highest advisory body of the APC party – by Fisher’s ruling has infuriated the APC Grassroots supporters immensely and their determination to snub the 21-Man Interim Committee selected by the SLPP Judge Fisher to oversee the internal affairs of the main opposition APC party has reached boiling point. The APC Grassroots supporters have made their position very succinct on the Fisher judgment. Here is a leading APC Grassroots member venting his anger at Peter Conteh and others on behalf of the entire APC Grassroots. In the audio on social media, the APC Grassroots supporter blasted: “We have heard about the final court judgment against the APC case between Alfred Peter Conteh and the APC.

“We the Grassroots supporters of the APC party are taking Peter Conteh as a non APCian. He is only taking advantage because he is carrying a party card or party membership or whatever. But we the Grassroots will never recognise Alfred Peter Conteh. We will never stand with them. They said Alfred Peter Conteh will choose the Chairman ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ what will happen, will happen. The bad precedent they have set will face them back. We the Grassroots will stand against Peter Conteh and whosoever on the side of Peter Conteh to take this party to court, we the Grassroots will stand against them to the last. We will never give respect to Alfred Peter Conteh and the nine persons Judge Fisher had allocated to his camp. We will not support them at the APC party.

“Right, we will not blame Justice Fisher for whatever decision he had made against the party. We blame Alfred Peter Conteh who collaborated with the SLPP government to bring the party to its present predicament. We the APC Grassroots will always recognise Alhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh for whatever decision they decide to take. Even as ordinary members of the APC party, believe me, we will stand with Alhaji Yansaneh and others. We will stand with Dr Samura Kamara. We will stand with Ernest Bai Koroma. Even if Ernest Koroma left the party, believe me, we will still listen to Ernest Koroma, whatever decision or support he wants from us, we will support him. We know that Alhaji Foday Yansaneh would be recognised in the letter. We will stand with him even as an ordinary member. We will respect Osman Yansaneh more than whosoever they put in the APC party Secretariat.

“The position that Alfred Peter Conteh is going to hold i.e. appointing the Chairman of the 21-Man Interim etc, those appointees would hold these positions empty-handed. But we the Grassroots would not give the support to Peter Conteh’s team. We will stand against anyone who occupies the Secretary-General post. We will stand against anyone who takes up the Chairman and Leader of the party. Yes, we will never give him/her the support. These positions would be held empty-handedly. You will not get the support from us the Grassroots because they are fighting for their selfish interests. We will stand with the old executives who had been expelled from the party. We will recognise these people, we will respect them. Even if they stand outside the APC or not, we will support them. We the Grassroots have the right to make a choice in the party.

“We are not obligated to Alfred Peter Conteh because he has not done anything for the party. We do not care about the expulsion of the old executives. The mere fact that the old executives brought lots of developments to the APC party, we saw their loyalty and commitment they showed to the party, believe me, we will stand with the old executives. We will continue to respect and stand with you. Whatever decision they would take as ordinary members we will support them. We have the right to our own opinion so we will support the old executives. Peter Conteh and others took the party to court, but today they have expelled the old executives, believe me, we the Grassroots, our royalty in the APC party is unshakeable. Alfred Peter Conteh would be Chairman of the APC party with no respect, believe me. Everything that went wrong in this SLPP government since 2018, Peter Conteh and Co have never criticised President Bio’s tyranny. This is because they have compromised with it as they want to use the SLPP/Paopa to take over the APC party by expelling the old APC executives.

“That has been the agreement between the APC traitors and Maada Bio. So the Alfred Peter Contehs have no value to us the Grassroots. Lots of things have gone wrong under President Bio but the Peter Contehs have said nothing. This SLPP government removed 10 APC Members of Parliament, Peter Conteh did not say anything. They have not come to challenge the SLPP government despite the bad things that had happened. The hardship, the political intimidation, corruption, all those things happened under President Bio but Peter Conteh and his supporters have not said anything to challenge this government about these issues as an opposition. But today, the SLPP court has decided to give them rights against the old APC executives. But believe me, Alfred Peter Conteh will never succeed in the APC. All the disrespect they have meted out to the old APC executives like Alhaji Yansaneh, the Chairman and Leader Ernest Koroma, and others will not go unpunished. Believe me, one bad turn deserves another,” the APC Grassroots audio concludes his stern warning.