Credible reports reaching Africa24 newspaper has disclosed that the Majority Leader of the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party in Parliament Hon. Chernoh Maju Bah, aka Chericoco will be approved on Monday March 13, 2023 again as running mate to Dr. Samura M.W. Kamara the APC leader and presidential candidate for the June 24, 2023 multi-tier  elections.

Posting on his twitter page, Hon Abdul Kargbo a senior member of APC stated that he has subscribed the oath of office of Non-Executive Member of the APC National Advisory Committee (NAC) will approve the running mate on March 13, 2023 who will automatically become deputy leader.

It could be recalled that Hon. Bah and Dr. Samura Kamara were selectively hand-picked by former president Koroma, who was chairman and leader of the APC in 2017 convention held in Makeni to contest under the same ticket as president and vice respectively.

Recently, just after the APC 2023 convention that was similarly held in Makeni in February; where Dr. Samura Kamara recorded a resounding election victory against other flagbearer challengers, the nation and supporters of APC was expecting Dr. Kamara to have announced his running mate, but to no avail.

According to reliable information reaching Africa 24, Dr. Kamara told senior operatives of APC to give him time to ponder over his running mate following several consultations after his landslide victory as leader and presidential candidate in February.

Sources revealed to Africa24 newspaper that the delay by Dr. Kamara to announce a running mate is connected to several factors. However, some APC supporters interviewed by Africa24 are of the view that Hon. Bah too had been nurturing the ambition to contest as flagbearer against Dr. Kamara and others. They considered such move as a betrayal of trust as both personalities must have stuck together.

Other supporters have contrary view; they opined that Hon. Bah found himself in a very critical situation under the current dispensation to counter the negative actions mounted by the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) against APC members since their inception on April 4, 2018.

A good number of APC supporters said that, a leader must be fearless and ready to face any consequences as long as it is in the interest of country and party.

They stated that senior members and supporters of the APC have suffered brutal attacks defenselessly under the regime of president Bio across the country and they still continue to experience humiliation as elections approach.

Another group of APC supporters Africa24 spoke to said, they were expecting this time around that Dr. Kamara will be his own man. The said, he should think outside the box, by selecting his running mate from the ruling SLPP party stronghold either in the eastern or southern region of Sierra Leone in order to recapture lost votes in 2018.

They added that, selecting Hon. Bah who hails from the Western area of the capital will add no extra votes for APC as the party always pulled significant votes in this region. Furthermore, they disclosed that Dr. Kamara should have considered regional and gender balance alongside religion tolerant and popularity for a running mate choice.

Concluding, these supporters admonished Dr. Kamara and APC to reconsider their decision of selecting Hon. Bah as running mate as the 2023 polls are very crucial to the survival of the nation especially at these present economic turbulent times and more so for the APC as a party.