By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The Leader of Government Business in Parliament for the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), Sidi Tunis, has said he is ready to quit his position since the party has decided to replace him.
Tunis told Politico on Tuesday that he would do whatever the party said.
Last week, Chairman of the SLPP, Dr Prince Harding, announced Martin Nyuma as the new leader of the party in parliament. Nyuma has been Tunis’ Deputy since he took over the position in 2018.
The announcement comes almost a month since Tunis was sworn in as the Speaker of the ECOWAS parliament, which is believed to be the reason for his removal as head of the party in parliament.
“My position as the Leader of Government business belongs to the party; as long as the party decides that I should relinquish it, I am ready to do so,” Tunis said in a telephone interview.
Despite the letter from the party chair, Tunis is still leading the party in Parliament. Over the Easter holidays, he wrote an Easter holiday message in the capacity as leader of Government Business.
This sparked questions on whether he is hanging on to the position even when the party chair had announced his replacement.
In his response to Politico, Tunis said that a transition process was already on the way and that he would continue to act in the position until it is completed.
“Even if the whole party writes letters, the procedure is, until the letter is read in parliament by the Honorable Speaker, before I relinquish my position as the Leader of Government Business,” he said.
Parliament is currently on recess. No date has been announced yet for its resumption. This means that Tunis will continue to act until a date for resumption of parliamentary sessions is announced.
Tunis has been replaced because of what the chairman of the party described as a “political vacuum” that has been created following his appointment as the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament.
But Tunis said that his new position didn’t create any vacuum.
“I am a non-residential speaker of ECOWAS parliament; meaning that I go to Abuja for seating and return to Freetown, so there is no vacuum. The important thing is that even if I was not speaker and the party decides that I should relinquish that position, I will do so with pleasure,” he said.
Dr Harding said the issue is more about time and not where the Speaker resides.
“It is not about whether he is non-residential or not. It is about the value of the position that he holds. It demands a lot of work. He must give time to his new position. He cannot occupy both offices when we have many capable people to hold one of the positions,” he said.
Tunis’ replacement, Nyuma, is a lawmaker from Kenema District. He is serving his second inconsecutive five year term in Parliament, whiles Tunis, who is from Pujehun District, is just two years in to his third consecutive term as an SLPP MP.
Nyuma has been in contention to lead the party in parliament for quite a while. Before the resumption of the 5th parliament in 2018, he was tipped to lead the party whiles Tunis was aiming to be the Speaker of the Sierra Leone Parliament.
But the plan of both men fell through.
It is not clear yet where Tunis will fit in to the Nyuma administration in Parliament. Tunis is one of the most experienced parliamentarians; his stature could overshadow Nyuma in any leadership arrangement or could benefit Nyuma in running things.
The party chairman said they still expected Tunis to be vibrant and contribute to party debates as he had been doing before.
“He has not been removed from Parliament. He is still an MP representing his constituency, so we expect him to contribute to debates as he has been doing,” Harding said.
Nyuma has a different leadership style. He is well known among colleague lawmakers as a hardliner. A parliamentary commentator who preferred anonymity described him as a “radical”.
“Honorable Martin Nyuma is known to be very radical. At a time when you have different parties in parliament, there are questions been asked as to whether he has temperament for such a position. But on a whole he has the experience, because he has been the deputy leader for two years,” the parliamentary commentator said.
Dr Harding said even though Nyuma was a radical, he has the requisite skills to lead the party’s affairs in Parliament. He showered praises on Nyuma, highlighting some of his numerous attributes that could make him a great leader.
“He is a radical with a cause, he can compromise but he will not compromise his principles. He is a forceful speaker, he is an intelligent speaker, he knows his way on the floor of parliament,” Dr Harding added.
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