SLPP Power Clash… Presidency & Speaker in Apology Showdown Over Parliament Incident
By Kelvin Jay
The fallout from an ugly incident in Parliament during the presidential State Opening has escalated into a public battle between First Lady Fatima Bio and the Speaker of Parliament.
Since the episode, Mrs. Bio has released multiple social media videos and written articles defending her actions and recounting events as she experienced them. She says the humiliation she endured that day—including her controversial decision to wear an earpiece while President Julius Maada Bio was speaking—was the result of deliberate provocation.
In her latest statement, the First Lady directly challenged the Speaker, insisting that he owes her an apology for the way she was treated. She revealed that shortly after the incident, the Speaker and his wife visited her at home to express sympathy—only for her to later hear him claim in a parliamentary leadership meeting that she should apologize to him.
Mrs. Bio accused the Speaker of being complicit in her humiliation, citing the decision to separate her from her husband during the ceremonial ushering into Parliament as a calculated move. She noted that such treatment was never directed at the former First Lady under President Ernest Bai Koroma, and alleged that certain figures within the SLPP have long sought to create friction between her and the President. She stressed, however, that her marriage is not dependent on his presidency.
Explaining her decision to wear an earpiece, Mrs. Bio said she was met with chants, jeers, and the singing of the “Coco Roast” song as she entered the Well of Parliament.
“I noticed some people in Parliament saying all sorts of rubbish against me, so in order not to listen to them, I put on an earpiece,” she said. “The embarrassment I faced could have prompted me to walk out peacefully, but I held my peace and remained seated.”
She alleged that members from both the ruling SLPP and opposition APC took part in the provocation. She singled out former SLPP Chairman Prince Harding as the orchestrator, accusing him of planning further embarrassment by mobilizing women in provocative T-shirts to confront her—an attempt she says was thwarted by Hon. Tawa Conteh.
Mrs. Bio praised SLPP MP for Kono, Hon. Rebecca, and former MP Hon. Alusine Kanneh for calming tensions. She lamented that many State House officials who witnessed her humiliation chose to remain silent, focusing instead on criticizing her reaction.
Responding to criticism for not giving the President a standing ovation, Mrs. Bio maintained that since her husband became President, she has never stood to usher him in at any event, as they are usually announced together.
“I challenge the public to produce any video where I have stood to usher in President Bio,” she declared. “There is no protocol stating that the First Lady must stand when her husband is being ushered in.”
Concluding her statement, Fatima Bio described her actions in Parliament as a measured response to calculated provocation, and called on the Speaker to “search his conscience, do what is right, and offer her an apology.”
