NEC Certificates Rep. Kogar Winner of Nimba Senatorial By-election

Monrovia, Liberia: The National Elections Commission has officially certificated Representative Samuel Kogar of Nimba County Electoral District Five as the winner of the just-ended April 22, 2025, senatorial by-election.

Representative Kogar contested the by-election of the ticket of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) of the late Senator Prince Yormie Johnson, who died on November 28, 2004, at the Women of Hope Medical Center in Paynesville City following a brief illness.

The certification program was on Friday, May 2, 2025, at the Sanniquellie City Hall in Nimba County with NEC Chairperson Davidetta Brown-Lansanah leading the charge.

With his certification, the incoming Nimba Senator is expected to officially take office upon the return of the Senate, where he will be sworn in as the Nimba Senator, replacing the political godfather, Prince Johnson.

Speaking minutes after his certification, incoming Senator Kogar vowed to push tribal reconciliation in the county owing to the high level of tribal division that was shown in the heated April 22, 2025, senatorial by-election.

The newly elected senator stressed that uniting the county after a heated electoral process is his first priority, adding that collective work by all citizens of Nimba, despite tribal backgrounds, matters to achieving his development agenda.

He assured Nimbaians of his determination to appoint staffers from each of the ethnic groups as a symbol of inclusion and decentralization of his policy in the county.

Senator-Elect: "We have come to pledge to the people of Nimba that, under our watchful eyes and under our administration, serving as Senator of Nimba County, our first and foremost concern is to bring the people of Nimba together in unison."

"We are going to ensure to curtail the issue of ethnicity; tribalism is abolished in our constitution under Article 5. And we must abide by it and uphold the rules of our laws. To assure our commitment in this process, the formation of our staffers in our office will focus on the five tribes in Nimba to be part of the inclusive development process," he added.

He also vowed to engage the Ministry of Labor to ensure a favorable working environment and status for citizens working at ArcelorMittal.

Kogar disclosed that he would lobby with the Nimba Legislative Caucus to use the county’s Social Development Funds (SDF) provided by ArcelorMittal to aid loan processes for the self-empowerment initiative.

"We are getting a huge sum of money from ArcelorMittal, and with this funding we are getting, the mountain will soon get depleted. What will be the legacy of the unborn generation? He questions, adding, “I pledge to push through lobbyist power with my colleagues that we use ArcelorMittal Social Development Funds as collateral to open the Bank of Nimba, a banking institution that will allow us to loan money to citizens from a cross-section of the county," he assured.

Senator-elect Kogar emerged as the winner in the April 22, 2025, senatorial by-election in which he accumulated 62,132 votes, accounting for 52.08%, while his closest rival, Madam Edith Gongloe-Weh, acquired 40,506 votes, constituting 33.95% of the votes.