By: Problyn J Alpha
With support from ECOWAS, a high-powered delegation from Freetown headed by the national president of the Sierra Leone Commercial Motorbike Riders Union Umaru T. Bah in collaboration with ECSL has on 23rd May 2023 ended a day sensitization of Commercial Motorbike Riders on the PR System Peaceful and Non-Violent Elections in Kono district.
According to Mr Bah, his Union embarked on such an initiative not to only foster peace in the Kono district and the country as a whole but to also dispel the misinformation that commercial bike riding is characterized by violence and other social vices.
He expressed delight at the huge turnout of the sensitization exercise and therefore urged his membership not to only attend the session but to also actualize the sensitization knowledge whilst doing their business. The national president of the Sierra Leone Commercial Motorbike Riders Union thanked ECOWAS for supporting his Union and ECSL to embark on such a laudable initiative.
He assured all that his members in the Kono district and the country as a whole will be neutral during the forthcoming general elections. Umaru T Bah intimated on this medium that commercial bike riding is helpful to the nation and that there’s some amount of relative peace between his members and the general public across the country.
“I, therefore, debunk the allegations that most of the reported snatching of bags and other social vices are perpetrated by my member,” Mr Bah concluded.
On his part, the district chairman of Sierra Leone Commercial Motorbike Riders Union Kono, Mohamed Fayiah foremost thanked his boss including other national and regional executives of the Union and ECSL for such sensitization in the district describing it as timely and very important as the said session gave better understand to the membership of the union about the PR SYSTEM and the importance of having a non-violent elections.
He further thanked and appreciated the national president of the Sierra Leone Commercial Motorbike Riders Union for putting aside his busy schedule to attend the sensitization session as his presence added more importance to the session and urged him to keep coming for similar functions. Mohamed Fayiah expressed optimism that the sensitization will yield good dividends as it was facilitated by the leadership of the union, unlike the previous ones which were facilitated by non-members of the union.
He assured all that his members in the district will be neutral before, during and after the forthcoming elections and therefore urged politicians to contact his office should there be any need to use his members for any public political functions.
Commercial motorbike Riders who attended the sensitization session thanked the organizers for work well done and promised to use the knowledge gained for the betterment of themselves, the district and the country as a whole.
The national president of the aforementioned union is expected to do likewise in the other districts across the country.
Kono District chairman