Published: May 25, 2026
Monrovia — The Student Unification Party at the University of Liberia recently presented a 12-point petition to national leaders, demanding the “urgent and holistic modernization, reconstruction and transformation” of the country’s premier and largest public university. The petition, addressed to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung, Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon, and Senate Pro-Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, was read and delivered to Speaker Koon on Capitol Hill by SUP Chairman Odecious Mulbah.
The presentation came after the student group announced it had lifted a previously declared “no-go zone” ban on the House Speaker. Speaking on behalf of what SUP described as over “22,000 students and concomitant Liberian citizens of civic consciousness,” Mulbah said the petition responds to “declining infrastructural collapse and the developmental downturn” at UL.
The document sets a 90-day deadline for the Government of Liberia and the UL Administration to act on the wide range of demands. Some of the most important of their demands include: 1. Procurement and operation of functional buses connecting all UL campuses. 2. Reconditioning of all damaged bathrooms with running water and hygiene standards at “zero additional cost” to students. 3. Comprehensive renovation of buildings, classrooms, lighting, seating, and campus beautification. 4. Campus-wide high-speed internet and Wi-Fi installation and 5. Establishment of 24-hour, fully electrified reading and research centers on each of UL’s four campuses.
The also mentioned in their demands solar-powered charging and study stations to address unreliable electricity as well as the creation of a Student Innovation, Technology and Career Development Center for skills training, internships, and employment preparation.
Other counts include: 8. Strengthened campus security, especially at Fendall, through trained personnel, lighting, and emergency response systems; 9. Institutional student representation in major policy decisions on tuition, academic regulation, and welfare and 10. Expansion of international academic partnerships, exchange programs, and research collaborations.
They concluded by stating that there is a need for the Installation of multimedia teaching equipment and modern library access to international journals and Institutionalization of internship and graduate employment pathways.
“We emphasize that these demands are not excessive or unachievable,” the petition states.
Speaker Koon: 90 Days “Isn’t Realizable”
Receiving the petition, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Richard Nagbe Koon commended the students for their concerns but pushed back on the timeline, citing fiscal constraints. “I want to be realistic in our discussion that 90 days isn’t realizable,” Koon told the students. “Allow us to take this proposal and catalog the date we are going to achieve these things one at a time.”
Koon said the demand for buses has already been captured in the recent supplementary budget and “expected to be executed.” He committed to addressing the bathroom renovations immediately while promising a detailed implementation schedule for the remaining items. “I have taken the initiative to renovate the bathroom, but all of the other things, Mr. Chairman I can submit to you by the 15th of next month the actual and realistic timeline that they will be achieved,” Koon said.
The Speaker added that “the government is faced with budget constraint and that all of the demands wouldn’t be addressed” within the 90-day window set by SUP. The Boakai administration and House leadership have faced repeated criticism from SUP over conditions at UL, leading to multiple student protests in recent months. Friday petition marks a shift in engagement after SUP lifted its self-imposed ban preventing Speaker Koon from entering UL’s campuses.
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