Over Swapping of Presidential Nominee: NLP Standard Bearer Fear Over Running of Country

In reaction to the recent swapping of a Presidential nominee, the Standard Bearer of the New Liberia Party (NLP) has described this act by officials of the President’s office clothed with the responsibility of posting nominations as shameful and criminal. 

In a press statement issued at the weekend in Monrovia, Rev. Dr. Joshua Tom Turner this brings the nation’s highest office to disrepute. 

The NLP’s standard bearer also frowned on President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s inability to take stern action(s) against these officials, whose action, he said has the propensity to create bitterness among Liberians, most especially those within the ruling class. 

It can be recalled that the name of one Martha Morris whom the President nominated to the post of Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of Health was swapped to former Nimba County Representative Roger Domah during the time of the posting of the nominations on the Executive Mansion website. 

But during a meeting with Senators at the Executive Mansion, President Boakai informed the Senators who had gone to pay him a courtesy visit that he was astonished to have heard that the nominee was changed by the posters, and as such, he mandated the team at the Ministry of State to immediately do the needful by posting the proper listing. 

The Liberian leader noted that he didn't nominate former Representative Roger Domah to the post of Deputy Minister for Administration instead he later heard that Madam Morris who he earlier concluded over by nominating her as Deputy Minister-designate for Health was given the position of Assistant Minister for Administration by those he mandated to post the name. 

Accordingly, Dr. Turner pointed out that those officials, who slighted the President’s Constitutional mandate as enshrined in Article 54, should have been penalized as this might not have been the first of its kind by them. 

The NLP political leader indicated that this dishonesty act of these officials are scaring and that failure of the Liberian leader to publicly announce any punitive measure such as suspension/dismissal exposes his weakness in leadership and even more scaring for a country desperately in need of change.

He urged the Liberian chief executive to take charge of the leadership by being uncompromising in taking major decision(s).

He asserted that the failure to prompt action will see the country witness another government of the immediate past, wherein the Executive Branch was run by lieutenants of the President rather than the President himself.

 “In my own mind, the action of these officials’ act was criminal owing to the fact that there was no name such as Roger Domah on the entire listing. If that name was there, then we could simply put it that it was a typographical error in inserting the two different positions with the names. But in as much as there was no name of such as Roger Domah, then we can clearly state that the action was intentional and criminal and I think they should have been punished for that,” he stated.

 “I am afraid over the running of this country if the President, who professes against the ‘business as usual’ is following in the same footstep of the past, most especially the immediately past,” added Dr. Turner.