APC supporters want new positions for Franklyn Bai Kargbo and Musa Tarawally

Those who think that President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma can take no for an answer must have woken up from their slumber following his recent Cabinet shake-up which drowned a few prominent names in the governing All Peoples Congress (APC).

Last week Tuesday, it was announced from State House that His Excellency the President, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma has removed two Ministers from his Cabinet while a few appointments were also made.

One of the Ministers who was removed from office was the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Hon. Franklyn Bai Kargbo.

Another Cabinet member that was disrobed was the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS), Dr. Joseph Sam Sesay, who had served in that Ministry since the President acceded to power in September 2007.

Prior to that, on Monday, 21^st December, 2015, Hon. Musa Tarawally was relieved of his duties as Minister of Lands, Country Planning and the Environment.

The Commissioner of Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), Mr. Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, whose name had once featured as one of the flag-bearer aspirants in the APC, was nominated by the President to succeed the sacked Attorney General and Minister of Justice. But Dr. Sam Sesay would however take solace in his appointment as Senior Adviser to the President.

Professor Monty Jones who was Special Adviser to the President now takes over as Agriculture Minister.

While the President has not yet nominated someone to replace Hon. Musa Tarawally, many tongues keep wagging as to why these three gentlemen were removed from Cabinet at the most crucial time when they should be helping the President with the Post Ebola Economic Recovery Programme.

According to APC sources, Franklyn Bai Kargbo is very much eager to contest for a Parliamentary bye-election in his maternal home, Lunsar, in Constituency 050 as the current female Member of Parliament for that Constituency, Hon. Isatu Kabia, has been nominated by the President to serve as Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

But some critics have asserted that the sacking of the erstwhile Attorney General and Minister of Justice may not be unconnected with the aspersions cast on Government for the alleged poor criminal justice system in the country under his tenure.

“I think the President sacked Franklyn Bai Kargbo because he may have lost confidence in him for several allegations levelled against him in the judicial circles,” opined a legal luminary who asked for anonymity.

The legal luminary believes that the President took a wise decision by sacking the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to protect the good image of his Government in pursuance of the rule of law and good governance.

In an interview with this medium, many party supporters were aggrieved that the President has removed Hon. Musa Tarawally as well as Hon. Franklyn Bai Kargbo from his Cabinet without considering the sacrifices these gentlemen have made for the APC and the massive support that Hon. Musa Tarawally has garnered for the APC in the South East.

They maintained that these former Ministers should be given other roles to play in governance in appreciation of their sacrifices and hard work for the party.

This medium also gathered that the sacking of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Good Security, Dr. Sam Sesay, allegedly has to do with his political antics which do not gel well with the President, including his alleged intention to run for the party’s flag-bearership.

It could be recalled that a few months ago, rumours were doing the rounds that Dr. Joseph Sam Sesay was amongst prominent names of flag-bearer aspirants for the APC together with the former Minister of Works, Housing and Infrastructure, Alimamy Petito Koroma, who was sacked for his alleged political ambition to lead the APC.

The position of Commissioner of ACC also remains vacant until the President nominates a successor to John Fitzgerald Kamara.

A political analyst commented that the sacking of the two Government Ministers is a warning signal to all party stalwarts that no one is indispensable in President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma’s administration and that those officials he has reposed confidence in to run his administration successfully should be more committed to development than politicking until his tenure ends.

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