MONROVIA — The CDC Council of Patriots (CDC-COP) has threatened to physically, patriotically, and brutally resist the Boakai-Koung government if it fails to indict some of its top public officials for their alleged involvement in fresh crimes of corruption, as is being done with immediate past officials of the former CDC government.
The stern warning to the current government by the CDC-COP, a civil rights movement, comes a day after former Security Advisor to ex-President George Weah, Jefferson Karmoh, was sent to jail by the Monrovia City Court on charges of economic sabotage.
Karmoh was earlier arrested by the court, along with several other top officials of the Weah-Taylor government.
Other accused former officials include Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah, Solicitor General of Liberia Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, former Financial Intelligence Unit (now Agency) Comptroller D. Moses P. Cooper, and Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) Stanley Ford.
Mr. Tweah has termed the government’s move through the court as a politically motivated witch-hunt and assured his partisans and the public that he will vindicate his character and defeat the Unity Party administration.
Responding to the court’s actions on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Monrovia at a press conference, the Chairperson of the CDC-COP, Ben Believe Togba, termed the indictment of former Minister Tweah and others as a political witch-hunt and a recipe to stir chaos in the country.
He stressed that the group takes great offense at the UP government’s act of weaponizing the rule of law to intentionally target political opponents, adding, “This is totally wrong, and we want to inform Mr. Boakai and his Unity Party that we will follow this process closely, and any attempt to undermine it will be resisted vehemently.”
Togba claimed that several top officials of the Unity Party government, under the watch of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, have been reportedly involved in criminal activities over the last seven months, but the Liberian leader has chosen to pursue selective justice by witch-hunting only former officials of the CDC.
He pointed out the alleged mismanagement of US$650,000 of the inauguration funds by Madam Miatta Fahnbulleh, who has refused to submit herself to the Internal Audit Agency’s investigation.
“While under investigation, Mr. Boakai awarded and recognized this woman, suggesting that stealing is accepted in the mansion today. Since January 22, 2024, the regime has refused to fund this simple investigation,” he added.
According to him, the appointment of UP National Chair Rev. Luther Tarpeh as Board Chair of the National Port Authority, amid his alleged link to the theft of US$360,000 from the district’s fund inauguration package, justifies that President Boakai rewards criminals for stealing.
The CDC-COP also named Mr. Bill McGill Jones, Deputy Minister at the Finance Ministry, as another public official with a questionable character in the Boakai-Koung administration.
He alleged that Deputy Minister Jones is openly stealing, illegally increasing payments, and signing off on everything for kickbacks, noting that the minister increased a US$180,000 invoice to $200,000 at the Finance Ministry, defrauding the Liberian people of $20,000.
Despite these reports about continuous corruption, Togba said there has been no investigation to date, noting that Minister Jones is walking free without any indictment.
Togba further outlined the reported withdrawal of over $550,000 from the National Social Security Corporation of Liberia (NASSCORP) by now Minister of State Sylvester M. Grigsby to purchase vehicles for the president, and the spending of $22.4 million on contracts for companies in the largest road rehabilitation scandal in Liberia’s history.
“Boakai’s Public Works, Finance, and Justice Ministers violated the PFM law and Article 34(d) of the Constitution of Liberia. They admitted guilt of mismanagement and pleaded for an illegal pardon from the Liberian Senate. We demand a full investigation and prosecution of these three officials of Boakai’s cabinet,” he stressed.
The civil rights group further disclosed that Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company Managing Director Amos Tweh and Liberia National Police Inspector General Col. Gregory Coleman are soliciting a US$15.7 million loan from Ecobank without legislative approval.
“This is a gross violation of Article 34(d)(iii) of the Constitution and the Public Financial Management Law of Liberia,” Togba said.
He also indicated that the Liberian Senate, under the watch of Senate Pro-tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, who also served as Unity Party Campaign Manager, wastefully spent over US$700,000 on the Senate Buchanan retreat, yet he stated that there has been no legal action taken.
Togba further highlighted the much-publicized controversial 285 pieces of earth-moving equipment brought into the country without the consent of the legislature and substantial documents to back the government’s decision among many other concerns raised by the CDC-COP.
Togba described the UP regime as a cesspool of corruption, stressing that the government’s attempt to deceive and hunt down immediate past officials of the Coalition for Democratic Change government is a mockery and an empty bluff.
The CDC-COP at the same time called on the international community to take due note of the happenings under the UP government, adding that Liberia should not go into crisis before making an intervention, which they believe would be too late.
“The Boakai-Koung administration has deliberately broken all the laws, and you have said nothing. We assure the world that we will never allow this regime to falsely imprison political opponents without due process,” the Chair of the CDC-COP, Ben Believe Togba, stressed.
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