By Sulaiman Bun Ibrahim Kamara
Osman Abdal Timbo has joined the growing list of people hoping to succeed President Julius Maada Bio when his term ends in 2028.
Timbo hopes to achieve this ambitious political goal through the ticket of his party – the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC). The lawmaker made his intention public at an event on Thursday, May 1, 2025, when he declared to contest in upcoming elections for the party’s flagbearer.
“I am a battle tested comrade who has served this party and nation diligently for over 15 years,” he said in a statement to an audience of APC supporters and sympathizers at the New Brookfields Hotel in Freetown.
“My record with the party needs not be explained and can never be doubted. I have already left indelible marks in the history of our party and nation, that will be spoken about and written in books, long after I am gone,” he added.
Thursday’s event was also graced by family members of the young politician, among them his wife and some prominent party members.
A lawyer by training, Timbo hails from an influential family of successful lawyers, his father being the late former Chief Justice of Sierra Leone and Fullah Tribal head for Freetown, Alhaji Dr. Abdulai B. Timbo.
The younger Timbo has carved out a place for himself in the Sierra Leonean polity as a lawyer, lawmaker and politician.
Born in Murray Town Village, in the west end of Freetown, he spent his formative years moving between Murray Town, Kanikay and Bellair Park.
Timbo started his professional career as a national legal associate working with the defence office of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, immediately after taking the Bar Final exams. He then proceeded to do his statutorily mandated pupillage at the law firm of Shears – Moses & Co. under the tutelage of the late Emanuel Shears – Moses himself, in 2010.
Timbo journey as an active politician started in 2013 when he contested for the position of Western Area Regional Youth Leader. He was instead selected to serve as Deputy Youth Leader, a position he held until the dissolution of the entire party’s executive by a court order in 2022.
Timbo was elected as Member of Parliament for Constituency 130 in Freetown in 2018. He would serve in various capacities in the legislature, including as deputy chairman of the Legislative Committee, member of the Public Accounts Committee and member of the Energy Committee.
Timbo’s declaration to contest for the APC’s presidential ticket came one month after he announced that he was stepping down as Deputy National Secretary General of the party, a position he held since 2023. He said back then he was doing so to comply with best practice.
Sierra Leone is expected to go to the polls in 2028, although no exact date has yet been set for the elections.
The APC is seeking to return to power, 10 years after losing it to its archrival, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP). As the main opposition since then, APC has accused the Bio Administration of mismanagement of the country’s economy, corruption and human rights violations, among many other ills. Many in the party believe that the 2023 elections, in which Bio won his second term, was rigged.
Timbo, who also hold that view, vowed to support efforts for reforms not just at the national level, but also within his party.
According to the opposition party’s electoral calendar, it is scheduled to conduct its internal elections starting in August 2025, to elect its new set of national leaders, including the flagbearer.
Timbo, among others, promised to unite the party and the nation if elected. He also vowed to develop an Inclusive Short, Medium, and Long-term Development Plan for the country, enforce law and order and intensify the war on drugs. Timbo further promised to enhance the country’s economy through industrialization, diversification and job creation, vowing to improve the health sector and embark on infrastructural development.
According to Timbo, his decision to unveil his potential candidacy on Labor Day was deliberate, as it is commemoration of the struggles of workers across the nation, whose salaries can’t take care of their basic needs, as well as young people who aspire to join the workforce in the future. He also cited the jobless youths who have dropped out of school with little or no hope for a brighter future and the many others being destroyed by drugs.
Timbo was also inspired by the fact that the APC was established in 1960 by trade unionists who believed in the value and contributions of everyone, irrespective of their background.
Timbo declared that he had a selfless purpose in this life and a divine duty to serve, noting that for this reason, he had chosen to rise not for himself but for every young person who dreams of a better Sierra Leone.
He therefore called on every young person, devoid of their political affiliation, tribe, region or educational standing, to join him to give birth to a movement of young people united by purpose, driven by hope, and strengthened by the courage of their convictions.
