Published: June 2, 2025
MONROVIA — Nearly four months after her suspension, the embattled Director-General of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), Emma Metieh Glassco, has broken her silence, accusing the government of orchestrating a political witch hunt aimed at tarnishing her reputation.
In a Facebook post Monday morning, Glassco accused her detractors of character assassination, public humiliation, and targeted harassment, warning: “Don’t take my silence for granted.”
Her comments came hours after NaFAA’s acting director-general, J. Cyrus Saygbe, appeared on state radio and criticized her leadership. Glassco, who was suspended by President Joseph Boakai on Feb. 14 following recommendations from the Office of the Ombudsman and NaFAA’s board, pushed back strongly.
“That action was quite vicious and mediocratic. How much more do you want of me — haven’t you guys had enough?” Glassco wrote.
“Staged-managed protests, harassment from every side, public humiliation, maligned my character — and yet you can’t establish a single proof. Notwithstanding, you pay to relay a podcast just to attack my person… The job is being taken away and it’s fine, but let me be, for God’s sake. Don’t take my silence for granted!”
Glassco was fined US$500 earlier this year for violating Liberia’s Code of Conduct, stemming from allegations of administrative abuse and failure to follow board directives. She is also under investigation by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), though no findings have been released.
In her statement, Glassco claimed her suspension was politically motivated, saying NaFAA “finally got itself a politician,” a jab seemingly directed at Saygbe. She argued that the new leadership is bent on discrediting her achievements.
Among those achievements, she cited the mobilization of US$40 million from the World Bank in 2021 and US$20 million from the OPEC Fund in 2023 — concessional loans she described as historic firsts for Liberia’s fisheries sector.
“Discredit efforts that drew both national and international recognition, including the mobilization of financial resources?” she wrote. “Show me one government institution without financial liabilities — including the government itself, which owes LEC millions. We don’t run operations on budget projections but on cash flow.”
Glassco urged her successor to focus on sustaining progress rather than waging a smear campaign.
“Just sustain all of our gains until we see the added value,” she wrote. “We were anxious to look forward to new policy reforms and programs, particularly directed to local fishermen.”
She added that many of NaFAA’s ongoing projects were already at advanced stages before her suspension.
Glassco has filed a US$15 million lawsuit against the Liberian government at the ECOWAS Court of Justice, claiming wrongful suspension and breach of contract. In the suit, she argues that her four-year term is protected under the NaFAA Act and cannot be prematurely terminated without due process.
NaFAA’s board and Acting Director Saygbe have maintained that her suspension followed all legal procedures. But Glassco’s remarks are likely to deepen internal tensions and amplify concerns about political interference in public administration.
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