With a concerted resolution from Members of Parliament, the Acting Speaker, Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, on Thursday 10 July 2025, ordered the Clerk of Parliament to summon the Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Amara Idara Bangura, and the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education.
The summons relates to alleged actions by the Chief of Defence Staff involving plans to demolish property situated on the premises of Services Secondary School, with the intention of transferring the school’s land to a private business operator for commercial use.
Citing Standing Order 23, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Daniel Brima Koroma, informed the House that one of the flagship initiatives of the Bio-led government is Human Capital Development, underpinned by the Free Quality Education programme. He therefore urged Members of Parliament to support the government by safeguarding all educational institutions.
Hon. Koroma described the alleged actions of the Chief of Defence Staff as a deliberate attempt to deprive Services Secondary School of its legitimate land, characterizing the move as both sardonic and contrary to the spirit of the government’s education agenda. He asserted that the Chief of Defence Staff’s intention to allocate school land to a private businessman constitutes a serious affront to Parliament, to President Julius Maada Bio’s government, and a blatant disregard for the Free Quality Education initiative.
He consequently proposed the establishment of a Special Interest Committee to investigate the matter. In response, the Acting Speaker, Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, appealed to the Deputy Opposition Leader to allow the Committees on Defence, Education, and Lands to jointly handle the issue. The Speaker further directed the Clerk of Parliament to formally summon the Chief of Defence Staff to appear before Parliament regarding the matter.
