Blyden Responds to First Lady's Endorsement of Aki-Sawyerr for APC

Blyden Responds to First Lady's Endorsement of Aki-Sawyerr for APC

Madam Sylvia Olayinka Blyden, a prominent member of the All People’s Congress (APC), has formally responded to the public endorsement of Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr by Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Fatima Bio, concerning the APC flagbearer contest for the 2028 general elections.

Blyden’s response, posted on Friday, 2 January 2026, followed her own declaration of considering a run for the APC presidential nomination. Rather than interpreting the First Lady’s support for Aki-Sawyerr as a personal slight, Blyden analyzed it through a lens of strategic political calculus.

She suggested that Mayor Aki-Sawyerr’s perceived expertise in managing critical electoral processes, such as the handling of Results Reconciliation Forms (RRFs), likely influenced the First Lady's decision. Blyden implied that this support is aimed at ensuring the APC's internal electoral mechanisms are robust leading up to 2028.

In contrast, Blyden positioned herself as the candidate committed to integrity and transparency, stating that her flagbearership would guarantee fair and accountable electoral procedures, preventing the manipulation or disappearance of RRF forms.

Emphasizing a need for strategic maturity within the party, Blyden encouraged the APC to learn from its setbacks in the 2018 and 2023 elections. Her statement underscores the escalating internal dynamics and strategic debates currently shaping the APC's selection process for the 2028 presidential nomination, prioritizing a paradigm shift based on integrity for electoral success.