Published: November 10, 2025
FOYA, Lofa County — A months-long investigation by The Liberian Investigator has uncovered credible indications that a Turkish firm with business interests in Liberia’s mining sector is financing the construction of the alleged US$10 million “Presidential Villa” currently rising in President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s hometown of Foya. The project, which has been the subject of intense national debate, is being built under a veil of secrecy, without public procurement records, budgetary disclosures, or any acknowledgment from the government of who is funding it and under what terms.
The findings mark the first substantive link between the villa and foreign financiers. Until now, the government has provided shifting and inconsistent statements regarding the project’s ownership and funding, ranging from claims of sub-regional sponsorship to suggestions that it is a private initiative. None of those explanations has withstood scrutiny. The Mano River Union, once named as a funding source by Daniel Sando, Deputy Minister for Public Affairs at the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism (MICAT), has entirely disavowed involvement. No legislative appropriation exists, and the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) confirms that no contract of this nature was submitted for review.
Yet construction continues, rapidly, expensively, and under unusually tight security.
Residents, workers, community leaders, and project insiders interviewed during The Liberian Investigator’s on-the-ground reporting in Foya described a project overwhelmingly dominated by Turkish nationals. They oversee the architecture, engineering, materials, logistics, and site security. Building materials, according to multiple eyewitness accounts, arrive from Turkey in night convoys. Access to the site is restricted. Photography is prohibited. Workers are sworn to silence.
The secrecy has deepened public suspicion, and our reporting now confirms that the Turkish builders involved are linked to companies with strong commercial interest in Liberia’s untapped mineral deposits.
A Project Launched in Silence
Construction of the Presidential Villa began weeks after President Boakai’s inauguration. Though supporters of the President in Foya praise it as long-overdue recognition for a region they say has been historically marginalized, the manner and speed of the project’s execution have raised questions nationwide.
Under Liberian law, any public project valued at or above US$200,000 must undergo open bidding and public disclosure in accordance with the PPCC Act. There is no known record that this procedure was followed. No bidding notice was published. No ministry has claimed budget responsibility. No donor nation has taken credit. No grant agreement has been announced. No loan has been ratified. The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning has provided no accounting reference to justify such spending.
The lack of transparency stands in stark contrast to the President’s cultivated reputation as a champion of accountability, one that has long been referred to by political supporters as “Honesty Joe.”
Inside Accounts From Foya
To understand the nature of the project and its management, The Liberian Investigator traveled to Foya, far from the political messaging wars in Monrovia. There, information flowed more freely. Residents, though cautious, were aware of the project’s significance and secrecy. Many confirmed patterns match the emerging financing narrative.
“Politics aside, we all want the truth,” said a senior local government official in Foya, who spoke only on condition of anonymity. “The President is known to be an honest man. But those advising him in this matter did not offer him good advice. The secrecy is unnecessary, and it raises suspicion.”
According to this source, planning discussions began in February 2024. The land, a seven-acre tract near Bandeloe on the Foya-Mendekorma highway, was secured under the direction of former Representative and now Minister of Internal Affairs, Francis Sackilla Nyumalin. Residents who owned properties on the land were compensated, in some cases at rates higher than typical rural land transactions, suggesting the presence of a well-resourced financier.
The same official confirmed that Turkish nationals have overseen the project since shortly after the foundation was laid in March 2024 and that a Liberian engineer originally contracted to begin construction was abruptly replaced once the initial groundwork was complete.
“The Turkish people are the ones building everything,” the source said. “The roofing, the fittings, the finishing materials, the furniture, all from Turkey. They come at night. Nobody outside the project is allowed in. Security is strict. The money is not small.”
A second source, a civilian with relatives working inside alongside the construction team, went further: “The President has a friend from Turkey who is paying for this. They have business interests in the mining industry here. That is why the thing is secret.”
The Liberian Investigator could not independently verify the identity of the alleged financier; however, patterns in the project’s supervision, procurement trail, and site control strongly suggest the presence of a foreign commercial entity rather than a philanthropic donor or state-backed grant.
Overlapping Political and Commercial Interests
If Turkish interests are contributing to the villa’s funding, it aligns with a broader regional trend: foreign companies securing strategic influence through personal relationships at the executive level. No doubt, the origin of the story about the controversial yellow machines yet to arrive in Liberia has its background from a personal relationship between President Boakai and a South African Investor. The narrative shifted only when the public raised concerns and demanded answers about the deal which later ended bringing in Chinese business tycoons whose business sites were visited and evaluated by Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung.
In Liberia, mining concessions have historically been awarded through negotiated agreements that involve significant political influence at the highest tiers of government, from iron ore in Nimba to gold in Cape Mount, to timber concessions in other parts of western Liberia.
Turkish companies have shown rising interest in West African resource extraction. In Guinea, Mali, and Sierra Leone, Turkish-backed mining and construction firms have expanded aggressively in the last five years. Liberia, with largely unmapped mineral reserves and a government in transition, presents a ripe environment for new entrants seeking early advantage.
The Structure and Scale of the Villa
The Presidential Villa is not a single structure but a full-scale residential compound. Photographic evidence and visual confirmation from multiple vantage points show no less than nine separate sleeping quarters. Five of those buildings contain four bedrooms each, while four contain three bedrooms each. A separate structure, larger and more architecturally pronounced, is designed to house a conference hall reportedly capable of hosting between 200 and 500 people, an unusual capacity for a rural presidential lodge in a remote district.
The compound also features a graded landing pad suitable for helicopters or short-range aircraft.
The President’s Inner Circle
The project is coordinated from the Presidency through Senior Project Manager Joe Mulbah, who serves as the central link between the Office of the President and the Turkish construction team. Minister Francis Sackilla Nyumalin reportedly provides local oversight and progress briefings to the President.
Multiple residents stated that President Boakai’s son, Joseph Boakai Jr., is frequently present at the site when in Foya. While his involvement does not necessarily indicate impropriety, it underscores the project’s personal significance to the President’s family.
Silence, Praise, and Fear
Public officials in Foya are split in their messaging. City Mayor Josiah Saahkeh has defended the project, suggesting that critics lack a development vision. “When the construction is done with, the President will let the cat out of the bag,” Saahkeh said. He said people like him and many others supporting the President’s development agenda are not deterred by the public scrutiny. “For us, it is not bothering us. Those in the opposition don’t have message. All their fight is about 2019. Those of us who are officials of government, the President was emphatically clear. He said if we are fighting for 2029, then we should pack off. The work we will do will speak for us in 2029. It is the opposition that is crazy all over and worry about this whole project.”
The Mayor was unapologetic in saying that if he were in President Boakai’s position he would done even more for Foya. “The same people said Boakai has not been able to do anything for Foya. They have said a lot of negative things about him but now let them know that wherever a President comes from is like the path of an elephant. There must be a mark. Doe was President and the people of Tuzon benefited. Tubman and Tolbert were also Presidents who did important projects in their homes in Harper and Bensonville,” he justified Boakai’s villa construction.
He added that there are more projects earmarked to begin soon, especially so that the rainy season is gradually fading away. “All the major streets in Foya will soon be paved with cement. BK Enterprise is the construction company which wil be doing that. It will be a Legislative support project,” Saahkeh disclosed.
“This is about Lofa County. It doesn’t matter the location. It is Lofa’s project. Wherever donors think they can erect a project is fine. Whoever that is behind the money, my understanding is, in my conviction, wherever this project is being erected is good.” He said the people of Foya are happy about the project and are in full support.
Apart from Presidential use, Saahkeh and many other unimpeachable sources disclosed that regional conferences will be held at the villa and high profile guests will always be lodged there.
In contrast, civil society leaders in Lofa say they have been excluded from any discussion or briefing. Civil society voices interviewed described a climate of caution, where questioning the project risks political retaliation. One community leader noted that “critical voices in Lofa are monitored,” and that residents fear being labeled as anti-government.
For Mohammed Kamara, head of the Liberia National Civil Society Council-Lofa Chapter said it is disappointing how the construction of a proposed public facility continues to be an issue of secrecy. “I know nothing about the construction in Foya. As you have shared with us, we will maybe make a trip there and investigate for ourselves to know how it is going. My concern too has been that there is a Presidential lodge here in Voinjama and it is in ruins. Why not renovate it and make it a decent place for the President to spend whatever time he has to stay in Lofa each time he visits,” Kamara said.
Lofa County Superintendent Lavela Massaquoi also distanced himself from making comments about the project. He cited his reason as unavailable of information at the level of his office. ‘The Presidential lodge here in Voinjama is undergoing renovation. Everywhere here was completely broken down until when we took over and decided to renovate them.I can not speak to the Presidential Palace project in Foya. I have nothing to tell you,” Superintendent Massaquoi told this investigation.
Confusion at the National Level
Government messaging on the villa has shifted repeatedly. The Ministry of Information initially suggested regional financing through the Mano River Union, a claim quickly rejected by the MRU Secretariat. The Presidential Press Secretary has affirmed that the project is “government-owned” but has not identified a funding source or legal authority for expenditure. During confirmation hearings, the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs stated he had no knowledge of the project, despite being responsible for coordinating presidential operations.
Taken together, these statements indicate either internal miscommunication or deliberate withholding of information.
Why the Source of Funding Matters
If foreign investors are financing the villa while actively negotiating access to Liberia’s mineral rights, the situation constitutes a direct conflict of interest. Such an arrangement could:
- Influence future concession awards
- Bind the presidency to private foreign expectations
- Weaken Liberia’s bargaining position in resource management
- Undermine anti-corruption governance norms
More critically, it could set a precedent in which executive infrastructure becomes a channel for foreign business leverage, thereby bypassing democratic oversight.
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