Aruna Turay, AYV News, August 26, 2025
One of the leading aspirants for the All People’s Congress (APC) Party’s Presidential Candidacy, Dr Ibrahim Bangura,has assured supporters and members that he is seeking the leadership because he has the capacity to unite the Party.
The message was key in his regional tour. Over the weekend in Lunar, Port Loko district, Dr. Ibrahim Bangura said, “Without peace and discipline, it will be difficult for us to win in 2028. I want to restore respect for party structures and encourage members to work together”.
He urged both the APC Party and the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) to see each other not as enemies but as partners in development, stating, “Sierra Leone can only move forward if our two major political parties work in the national interest. We must see ourselves as brothers and sisters, not adversaries.”
Despite his academic prowess, many people believed that Dr Bangura is a leader who fosters a collaborative and inclusive political environment, valuing input from his members and promoting shared decision-making, which makes him the leading aspirant for the flagbearer position in the APC for the 2028 elections.
He is a leader who prioritises transparency, open communication and empowerment, encouraging creativity and innovation, while maintaining accountability. He has succeeded in building strong and cohesive relationships across the country, and many people, including those who are not politically aligned, are in line with his style of leadership.
Dr Bangura is a respecter of all people irrespective of their ethnicity or regional affiliations. His charisma in articulating and analysing complex political theories in simple and subtle terms is admirable, and that is one of the reasons people are clamouring for his leadership.
He is a leader who listens to diverse perspectives and demonstrates empathy towards people around him, and treats everybody fairly.
The above qualities set him apart from other leaders in the flagbearer race across the political divide. Dr Ibrahim Bangura is influential across Africa and the wider world, as he has worked for many institutions dealing with gender, governance, security, peacebuilding and development issues.
His inspirational touch and open- mindedness quality has attracted many Sierra Leoneans from all walks of life to support his candidacy. Recently, a group of female legal practitioners presented him with a plaque in a show of support and appreciation for how he has conducted himself since he started his political journey.
Many Sierra Leoneans whom Dr Ibrahim Bangura has crossed paths with have expressed a strong desire for practical democratic governance in Sierra Leone, and see him as the ideal politician to usher in democratic good governance that will take Sierra Leone to the apex of development.
Majority of Sierra Leoneans feel the current leadership in the country has not done much in maximising the welfare of the citizens, which has led to discontentment.
He has lectured at Fourah Bay College for nearly two decades with excellence and morality, irrespective of his young age, charisma and handsome looks. Leaders with such qualities are hard to come by in the present-day African political landscape. The leadership style of Dr Ibrahim Bangura is what Sierra Leoneans are looking for in a leader.
He is not aspiring to labour in the past or to chase shadows, but to shape the future.
