Konteh Turns Up Heat on APC Leadership Over Internal Crisis

All People’s Congress (APC) flagbearer aspirant Dr. Richard Konteh has intensified criticism of the party’s current leadership, questioning its handling of internal challenges, the pace of internal elections and preparations for the next National Delegates Convention.

Speaking on Liberty Online TV, Konteh said the APC’s current leadership should have taken steps to address the party’s organisational difficulties rather than allowing them to persist.

He argued that the party should have considered an interim leadership arrangement to guide the APC towards its national convention, particularly if the current executive was unable to complete the internal electoral process.

Referring to a similar arrangement within the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), Konteh questioned why the APC could not adopt a comparable approach. He said an interim arrangement would have been preferable to allowing the existing executive to continue overseeing the party’s internal affairs amid the challenges.

Konteh also criticised the pace of the APC’s internal elections, claiming that after three and a half years, the party had progressed only to constituency-level elections and had not moved beyond ward elections.

He questioned whether the current executive could successfully organise the party’s next National Delegates Convention within the remaining timeframe, arguing that its record so far does not provide sufficient confidence that the process will be completed within the next two years.

The APC flagbearer aspirant also raised concerns about the party’s engagement with the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC), questioning the approach taken by the National Executive in addressing the party’s internal organisational matters.

Konteh further questioned the relationship between APC National Chairman Ambassador Osman Foday Yansaneh and the SLPP government, describing aspects of their engagements as “strange.” He acknowledged that meetings between opposition leaders and government officials were not inherently wrong but questioned the level of confidence placed in the potential outcomes of such engagements.

His comments add to growing debate within the APC over the effectiveness of its current leadership, the slow pace of internal elections and the party’s ability to organise a credible national convention.

For Konteh, the central issue is whether the current executive can resolve the APC’s organisational challenges and complete the necessary internal processes in time for the party’s next major leadership contest.