Dear Readers,
This is not about saving face. It’s about saving our republic from the chronic dishonesty and bureaucratic manipulation that has long corroded public trust.
On April 16, 2025, Executive Director of the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC), Mr. Bodger Scott Johnson, spoke with The Liberian Investigator candidly. His words—“My office has no record to show that PPCC was involved in any part of the deal. But you can check it out with the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs”—were not whispered off-the-record. They were delivered in a clear, audible voice and recorded with his full knowledge.
Yet, two days later, in an astonishing twist, the very institution tasked with protecting the integrity of public procurement has issued a press release accusing this newspaper of misinformation. The PPCC now claims Mr. Johnson never made such a declaration and suggests our story is misleading and unethical.
We reject this cowardly attempt at erasure.
Let it be known to our readers and the public: we are today publishing the unedited audio of Mr. Johnson’s remarks so that Liberians can judge for themselves who is lying and who is telling the truth.
Mr. Johnson’s backpedaling is not just professionally disappointing—it is institutionally dangerous. This is not about our newspaper or your office. This is about the Republic of Liberia and the truth her citizens deserve.
When leaders in public institutions contradict themselves in the span of 48 hours—first acknowledging absence of involvement in a deal, then denying ever saying so—it raises alarming questions about who is truly running this country. Are we governed by laws or by cover-ups?
We have one job at The Liberian Investigator: to pursue the truth, no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient. We have done so here. We will continue to do so—even when the pressure to conform, to be silent, or to recant becomes suffocating.
To the Boakai administration: if the Yellow Machines deal is legitimate, then prove it. Publish the procurement documents. Show us the contracts. Explain how US$80 million was shaved down to US$22 million in a deal for the exact same number of machines. And please, don’t hide behind tired phrases like “ARREST Agenda” when transparency is arrested at every turn.
To Mr. Johnson: your words were your own. We didn’t put them in your mouth, nor did we twist them. You spoke on the record, in your own voice, as the head of the very institution now accusing us of fabrication. That contradiction speaks for itself.
This moment demands courage—not cowardice. Liberia’s procurement watchdog must not become its propaganda arm.
History is watching. And so are we.
Lennart Dodoo
Managing Editor
The Liberian Investigator
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