President Julius Maada Bio has, on Wednesday, 1st March, 2023, assured the inhabitants of Kono district that if he is re-elected in the June 24 2023 multitier elections, he would not take them back to 1961 but would rather continue to work in line with modern day trend to transform the entire country.
He made this assurance while addressing a huge crowd of supporters of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) at the Koidu City Football Arena in Koidu, Kono district, Eastern Sierra Leone.
President Bio was reacting to an interview done by the presidential aspirant of the main opposition, the All People’s Congress (APC), Dr. Samura Kamara, who recently said that if he is elected president in the June 24 polls, he would return Sierra Leone to 1961.
“This is the 21st century where there are advancements in everything around us. In 1961, we never had mobile phones and internet connectivity in Sierra Leone to enhance telecommunications. Apart from Freetown, people were not enjoying 24-hour electricity supply in other towns and villages like we are enjoying it today. Most of the roads leading to municipalities and villages were not tarred. There was no coloured television in Sierra Leone. There was also no brand-new airport that could compete with others in the subregion. So, I cannot take you back to those dark days,” he assured his audience.
He said he would not advice anyone to vote for a presidential candidate that will have to take Sierra Leone back to 1961, adding that he was ready to continue to lead the country to modern day development.
“The transformations you have witnessed in Kono district in the last five years under my leadership is just a tip of an iceberg. More transformative initiatives and implementation are underway. With me in governance, Kono is safe because I will continue to address the historical injustices that have been meted on all of you by past leaders,” he reassured.
He promised the inhabitants of Kono district that he would never give them drugs and alcohol to fight his political opponents for him, adding that he has never been on record for initiating and perpetrating violence.
“Few days ago, I went out of the country to receive the African of the Year award. That award was in recognition of my diligent work in serving the people of Sierra Leone and my diverse contributions to the African continent,” he told his audience, while urging them to make a choice of either voting for more development or to vote for a presidential candidate that would have to take them back to 1961.
