Leslie Allen – Still breaking chapters from the APC-NA branch
It has been a tough three weeks already since President Koroma declared in a meeting that the five Chapter Interim coalitions should be maintained and the seven neutralized Chapters be brought back to the fold. Tempers had flared and the threats from some people of a break away from the APC loomed in the air. (Photo: Brima M. Turay)
The opposition stood poised to exploit and prey on any chance on any defectors that may be willing to compromise their loyalty to the APC. The Seven neutralized Chapters continued to hold meetings and raise funds for the unknown; but strong in their commitment to make sure they remained organized and solidified for the good of an ailing APC in the Diaspora.
In the midst of all this, Leslie Allen, a seemingly unelectable but hand-picked Chairman of the new Interim executive is busy doing some more damage to what is already a very fragile North America branch. First, he and his team attempted to act surreptitiously by contacting newspaper editors to block any articles that are coming from Brima Turay of Arizona but failed miserably. Then he started canvassing the five presidents in the new coalition to vote on a ban on Brima Turay from participating in any matters of the APC North America branch but again failed miserably. He made several threats around that he would make sure Brima Turay is harassed and beaten up whenever he visits Sierra Leone but what the poor Leslie Allen did not know is that Brima Turay is more than just one individual. I will not even mention the many lies he has been perpetrating around that he is actively in contact with presidents of the seven neutralized Chapters and working hard to bring them to the fold.
Only recently, Leslie Allen, who professes to love the APC more than anyone else, has dealt another serious blow to the Atlanta Chapter by announcing in the five-chapter presidents meeting that the coming convention, which was originally slated for Atlanta, Georgia will now take place in Ohio. It should be recalled that the decision to hold the next convention in Atlanta was witnessed and blessed by Ambassador Bockarie Stevens; the APC veteran Pa E.T Kamara; the party secretary Mr. Victor Foh; Mr. Olu Beckley; Madam Victoria Saidu and all Chapter delegates during the last Delegates-convention in August 2008 that was held in Maryland. It is also important for our worldwide readers and supporters to know that the Atlanta Chapter is the second APC Chapter formed in North America after the Washington Chapter; and the Ohio Chapter has just been recently inaugurated. The reason for the change of venue remains a mystery to the majority of our members.
President Koroma warned against hidden agendas but what he did not know is that Leslie and his cohorts have an agenda different from what they are projecting in public. The Atlanta Chapter has decided to break away from Leslie’s faulty coalition of an Interim body. The president of the Atlanta Chapter and the Acting Organizing Secretary in the Interim Executive walked out of meeting in protest against Leslie’s change of heart. Does the APC want this kind of leadership for the North America branch? I don’t think so! The seven Chapters, oh, lest I forget, now eight because Atlanta is back in our fold, have released a temporary executive that is going to oversee our affairs until Leslie and his team of hijackers can come to their senses. This kind of senselessness is what we have been trying to fight against because it does not make room for good leadership and a stronger coalition.
How can we go to convention with only four Chapters remaining? Why would Leslie Allen not have the common sense to know that this is not the time to make such unrealistic changes to the business of the North America branch? Why are the Ambassador and his partner Victor Foh not saying a thing about this mess but would suspend Chairman Conteh for merely getting into some altercation with Idriss Kamara? Victor Foh whose visits to the US used to be celebrated and cherished just arrived in the US undercover and unannounced. He could afford to sit in his office in Freetown and give directives to his Ambassador to dissolve Chapters and suspend Chairmen but he cannot afford to make his presence in North America known, let alone help in resolving this very thorny issue. I want the world to see the kind of leadership we are struggling with in North America.
To suggest that no one should say anything against such senseless act of disregard for the constituents is plain silly!
Leslie and his team are making the housekeeping job very difficult for the neutralized Chapters. While we are trying to keep every member that we can possibly encourage to stay within the party, Leslie is busy kicking people out of the small group of five Chapters that he oversees. If they cannot manage five Chapters, what makes them think that they can manage twelve? This is very embarrassing to some of us and it breaks our hearts to see that no one is saying a thing about it! Do these people really want to see the APC back in power in 2012? It is hard to believe because every action they take and every movement they make points to destroying the foundation for a return to power in 2012! Please Leslie and your cohorts of destroyers, we ask you to desist from paralyzing this noble political institution by making sure you reach out and bring everyone on board so that we can hold our convention in Atlanta as soon as possible before we start losing everybody! I hope you will be kind and wise enough to see the damage that you are causing and understand that damage control is the one thing that you seriously lack!
Author is also the Editor-in-chief of: New Rising Sun, USA
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