The recent interview of the erstwhile National Secretary General of the governing Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), Sulaiman Bajan Tejan-Sie, has left a political bombshell that has shocked most stalwarts, stakeholders and members of the party.

According to the seasoned legal luminary and stalwart in the SLPP, only Distinguished Grand Chief Patrons of the party are qualified for the flagbearer race of the party, adding that since the new party constitution came into being, there had been no addition to the number of Distinguished Grand Chief Patrons in the SLPP.

Sulaiman Banja Tejan-Sie Esq. made it clear that for a member to be made a Distinguished Grand Chief Patron, your contributions and services to the party would be taken into consideration by the National Executive Council (NEC) on the member's contribution and service to the party, adding that it is not a closed club, but for now, no one has been elevated to that membership title since the new party constitution came into being.

The party members that the learned lawyer named as Distinguised Grand Chief Patrons in the SLPP are as follows: President Julius Maada Bio, who is no longer going to contest for a flagbearship, Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, John Oponjo Benjamin, Dr. Prince Alexander Harding, himself (Sulaiman Banja Tejan-Sie), amongst other stalwarts who have served the party diligently over the years.

It's now clear that most of those rumoured to be eyeing the flagbearer race next year are not Distinguished Grand Chief Patrons, including the Chief Minister, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh, the First Lady, Mrs. Fatima Bio, Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, Foreign Affairs Minister, Alhaji Timothy Musa Kabba and many others.

He urged members to stop treating succession like a personality contest and focuses on merit, discipline, and respect for the party constitution, arguing that anything less puts the party's future at risk.

Lawyer Tejan-Sie also addressed claims that the party secretaries-general wield more power than party chairmen.
He cautioned that the First Lady's argument has no grounding in how the SLPP or any serious political institution is structured.

The learned lawyer argued that the attempt to recast internal authority was part of a wider effort to bend party norms in favour of personal ambition, a trend he warned could damage the party if left unchecked.