Olufemi Claudius-Cole, the only female presidential candidate in the ongoing Sierra Leone elections is behind after early results were released.
Claudius-Cole’s Unity Party, UP, have garnered only 1,643 votes, presently last in the polls.
The National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone released the results of 7 March general election with All Peoples Congress (APC), and Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) leading other parties.
The Chairman of NEC, Mr Mohammed Conteh, declared the “progressive” result at the commission’s headquarters in Freetown on Saturday.
But Cladius-Cole’s party that was registered in late 2017 has trailed in the polls despite its vigorous campaign to improve the healthcare system and education.
Olufemi Claudius Cole was born in 1962 to Claudius Cole, a medical doctor.
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She was a nurse for more than 20 years and was chief matron of the West End Clinic in Freetown.
Having worked as a nurse in Sierra Leone and abroad Cole was shocked by the differences in medical care and education between comparable countries.
In particular she dislikes the disparity in services available to the rich and poor and the high rate of deaths from preventable or treatable illnesses.
She is also disappointed in the high maternal death rate.
Cole considered joining a political party in 2013, but could not find one that she agreed with.
In 2016 she decided to found her own party – the Unity Party.
Cole had to wait until October 2017 before the party was registered but began campaigning ahead of that.
The party’s main focus is education and health but Cole also wants to create new jobs and improve trade links.
Cole and her campaign team offered free health checks for “vulnerable people”, in conjunction with the West End Clinic.
The party has offices in Bo, Kenema, and Makeni.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
