Press Statement by the All People Congress on the alleged assassination attempt
on the leader of the party, Mr.Ernest Bai Koroma

.At the conclusion of his Campaign Tour of parts of the Southern Province which included Moyamba and Bonthe, the APC Party Leader checked into the Country Inn Hotel in Bo for a night’s rest yesterday 22nd July, 2007. His schedule was to participate in an APC supporter’s rally in Bo this morning before leaving for Pujehun in the evening. 

Our Leader, Hon Ernest Bai Koroma’s sleep was rudely interrupted by a commotion outside his hotel room. He advised himself to stay indoors and when the fracas subsided, he came out to be informed that some armed men had attempted to prise open his door with the intention of assassinating him. The culprits, headed by one Tom Nyuma, were arrested later by police who had come to the scene. 

IMPLICATIONS:
Hon. Ernest Bai Koroma is the flag bearer of the APC on whom all Sierra Leoneans have pinned their hopes of salavation for a brighter and more prosperous future after August 11.

The mere thought of the conspiracy to assassinate him by those who know that the voters of Sierra Leone have decided on voting him as president of Sierra Leone is calculated to disrupt the election process in order to perpetuate the rule of the failed SLPP in Sierra Leone. 

POLICE STATEMENT:
The initial statement of the Inspector General on the radio this morning is that the police are investigating the alligation, as always. We believe in the police and believe in the impartiality of the police force. Our Only hope is that they remain impartial in this particular investigation and not to play the devil’s advocate. 

The theory that Tom Nyuma and his cohorts may have been guests at the Country Inn Hotel is neither credible nor plausible. Hon. Ernest Koroma or any member of the APC will not check into a hotel where they know Tom Nyuma and any other member of his group are staying. 

We would like to make it known that this explanation is unacceptable. The question the police need to have answered is: What was Tom Nyuma doing outside Honourable Ernest Bai Koroma’s hotel room door at 4a.m on the morning of Monday 23rd July, 2007?

This is especially important since Tom Nyuma’s comrade in arms, Brigadier (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio is reported to have declared on one Radio Democracy Salone Tiday programme, when he was vying for the Leadership of the SLPP last year, that should the APC come to power, he would overthrow that Government once again by force of arms. 

The APC believes that if the police did not treat this utterance seriously then, today’s early morning event’s in Bo should be a wake up call. It is common and open knowledge that both Maada Bio and Tom Nyuma, major players in the military coup that overthrew the APC Government in 1992, have taken positions in the SLPP Presidential Candidate’s Campaign team.

The APC would like to remind Sierra Leoneans that the outgoing President and his outgoing Vice president were key advisers to the NPRC Government of which Maada Bio was head of State and Tom Nyuma, Secretary of State for the Eastern Province.

The connection started long ago and it seems set to be perpetuated through these alliances and actions. The APC believes that the people of Sierra Leone know what is being overstated by these people and will answer them accordingly in the ballot box on August 11, 2007. 

APPEAL:  

In the interest of the maintenance of sustainable democracy in Sierra Leone, a democracy for which the people of Sierra Leone paid dearly in blood, sweat and tears, the All Peoples Congress is calling upon all its members, supporters and sympathizers, to remain calm in the circumstances and to continue to respect the rule of law as the basis for our democracy.

Signed.
Hon. Alhaji Alpha Kanu
Presidential Candidate’s Spokesman.
23rd July, 2007.