By Mohamed Ba, special correspondence.
The meeting was held in a large hall of the Saint Michel district in Cotonou. It was in a packed enclosure, in the presence of Honorary Consul Ibrahim SOW and senior leaders of the RPA and the Benno Bobkk Yakkar coalition, that the Honorable Seybatou AW, MP for the West Africa Diaspora, is welcomed in sounds and rhythm this afternoon of October 31, 2018.
Even the torrid heat that has swept through Cotonou today could not be enough to mobilize the activists and supporters of the RPA and the Benno Bokk Yakaar coalition. In his welcome message, Consul Ibrahim Sow will first thank the honorable member for this visit, which is a credit to them, before inviting activists and supporters to understand that once elected “the deputy represents the people without exclusion. “. Taking over, the leaders of the organs of the APR as well as those of the Allied movements will first of all thank the Senegalese government for the funds obtained and for the establishment of an honorary consul in Benin, before launching their strings of grievances at the place of their parliamentarian.
These revolve around the establishment of a diplomatic entity to facilitate the establishment on the spot of documents such as identity cards, passports and many other acts, access to land in Senegal at lower cost with a phased payment method, access for young people, women and men to finance for their income-generating activities and the reminder of the government project to serve the sub-region with transport buses from of Dakar.
Speaking in turn, the Honorable Seybatou AW will hammer at the audience “I understood your grievances and I will pass them to the right” before thanking the Senegalese community of Benin for the mobilization and the reception at the Ministerial Salon of Cotonou Airport, on his arrival on October 30, 2018. “As soon as I arrived, I felt the true warmth of the Senegalese Teranga,” he added.
It will be clear from his address that the objective of his mission in Benin is first to thank the Senegalese community of Benin for giving the coalition Benno Bokk Yakaar an overwhelming majority in the legislative elections of July 30, 2017 and especially, invite the activists and supporters of the coalition to mobilize in a tight row for a victory without appeal of President Macky Sall in the presidential election of February 2019.
This mobilization of activists comes after those of March 11, 2018 in Abidjan and that of August 25, 2018 in Bouaké in Côte d’Ivoire. At each stage of his journey, the Honorable Seybatou AW reminded of the instructions of the presidential message which revolve around the triptych Unit, Mobilization and Animation. As part of the ongoing sponsorship campaign, the MP for the diaspora insisted on the need for supporters of Benin, to give their champion, the number of signatures allowing him to be a candidate.
Motions for support and commitments to triumphing the militant flame of unity and mobilization for President Macky Sall’s victory in the first round of the 2019 presidential election were the highlights of the meeting. “We promise President Macky Sall a 100% score in Benin,” they said. A visit to the premises graciously arranged by the Honorary Consul Ibrahim Sow for the Senegalese community of Benin, sanctioned the end of the game, to the satisfaction of the Honorable Seybatou AW. “You are among those who give to Macky Sall and Senegal without expecting anything in return,” admitted the MP, before congratulating the Consul for his efforts to coach activists and the entire Senegalese community.
A visit to the headquarters of the APR
The second highlight of the Hon. Seybatou AW’s visit to Benin was at the home of Bocar SAM, the seat of the RPA in Cotonou, Benin. As an RPA activist and member of the ruling coalition, Seybatou AW emphasized the principle of unity that should guide joint action on the eve of the 2019 presidential election. ‘APR must be the first to translate the presidential instructions into action to strengthen the adherence of allies, “he insisted before continuing that” the victory of our candidate on the evening of February 24, 2019 depends on our ability to remain united and determined “.
It is with the personal intervention of the deputy and to the great satisfaction of all that Magatte Thiam, the coordinator of the APR in Benin and Alassane Ndiaye, in charge of external affairs of the same party, will smoke the pipe of peace, by sticking together, putting an end to a conflict that for months had seriously sowed disunity in the party and in the community. An act that is in line with the values of unity and assembly advocated by President Mack Sall.
