Last Updated on June 11, 2025 by The Liberian Investigator
MONROVIA — With days to go before Liberia hosts a high-level ECOWAS parliamentary session, a renewed clash in the House of Representatives over who rightfully speaks for the nation is threatening to undercut the country’s standing at the regional gathering.
There has been a long-running disagreement over the composition of Liberia’s ECOWAS parliamentary delegation. A faction of lawmakers insists that the current delegates—Reps. Moima Briggs Mensah, Samuel R. Enders and Taa Z. Wongbe—were improperly retained following a leadership crisis that divided the House in late 2024.
During plenary Tuesday, Rep. James Kolleh of Bong County District 2 argued that a new delegation, elected amid the controversy and later reaffirmed through a House resolution, should be recognized instead. That group includes Briggs Mensah, Augustine Chiewolo and Samson Wiah.
“We took a decision to recall members at ECOWAS and reelect new officials,” Kolleh said. “When the court rendered the opinion that our actions were illegal, we came back to plenary and passed a resolution. That resolution mandated that everything we did—which the Supreme Court said was illegal—was now legal.”
Kolleh contends that Briggs Mensah is the only delegate from the disputed period whose selection aligns with the now-recognized plenary. He urged Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon to engage with ECOWAS leadership to ensure Liberia’s full delegation reflects that mandate.
“We have a gap, and our assumption is that we are to join her [Briggs Mensah] to complete the delegation,” he said. “It is expedient that your leadership takes on this matter and works with ECOWAS to ensure the current delegates, newly elected by this House, are recognized.”
But other lawmakers pushed back, saying ECOWAS had already closed the door on renegotiating Liberia’s delegation.
Rep. Alex Noah of Sinoe County District 3 reminded colleagues that the regional parliament, in a formal response issued in March, rejected Liberia’s attempt to recall its original delegates, citing their fixed-term appointments.
“ECOWAS is not refusing,” Noah said. “From the back-and-forth between ECOWAS and the then-majority bloc, ECOWAS is saying these people have tenure and you can’t recall them. What’s the back-and-forth for?”
ECOWAS Holds Firm
The ECOWAS Parliament, responding to the Legislature’s March 2025 request, invoked Article 18.1.2 of its Supplementary Act, stating that national delegates serve fixed terms and may only be replaced under specific conditions, such as resignation, incapacity, conviction, or death.
That position stands in direct opposition to the House’s internal resolution, which ratified actions taken during the height of the leadership crisis—including the appointment of new delegates.
The political standoff originated in October 2024, when a bloc of lawmakers declared the Speaker’s seat vacant and installed a rival leadership. During this period, the group held separate plenaries, passed major legislation including the national budget, and named a new ECOWAS delegation.
The Liberian Supreme Court later ruled that the actions taken during the contested sessions were unconstitutional. However, following that ruling, the House—now under the leadership of Speaker Koon—passed a resolution affirming those decisions.
With the ECOWAS delocalized meeting set to begin in Monrovia later this month, the question remains whether Liberia will participate with a unified, recognized delegation or whether internal discord will continue to cloud its presence on the regional stage.
The session is expected to bring together lawmakers from across West Africa to deliberate on security, governance and economic development in the subregion. Yet, for Liberia, unresolved questions over legitimacy and representation threaten to dominate the sidelines.
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