MONROVIA – Suspended President and CEO of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), Rustalyn Suakoko Dennis, is pointing fingers at the very administration that suspended her, accusing it of hypocrisy in the ongoing corruption probe surrounding the misuse of Corporate Social Responsibility Funds (CSRF).
While Dennis is under investigation by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) for allegedly misusing CSRF and approving a questionable $75,000 SUV purchase, she revealed in a live podcast that the same CSRF was used to directly support political activities tied to President Joseph Boakai and the Unity Party—a fact she says the administration has chosen to ignore.
“I recall vividly I said to them we sent L$2 million to Lofa County when the president was going to Lofa County for women empowerment,” Dennis said. “We sent L$2 million to Margibi County for the UP Women’s Organization. We sent over L$1 million in Grand Cape Mount County.”
Despite these substantial disbursements to counties in connection with the President’s regional visits and Unity Party-linked programs, Dennis remains the sole subject of public scrutiny and formal investigation.
“So why is it questionable to give a Liberian family US$2,000 to help to go for foreign opportunity?” she asked, referencing one of the allegations under investigation by the LACC.
Dennis’ remarks expose what she characterizes as selective enforcement of accountability in the Boakai administration. She argues that her suspension is less about legal violations and more about public perception and politics.
“There was a call for suspension. I saw my suspension on social media. It was signed by the President of the Republic of Liberia,” she said. “Even though I was never called by my board of directors, I was never subjected to any investigative panel for which they have probable cause to recommend my suspension.”
Dennis admitted she authorized transactions during her 10-month tenure, but emphasized that NOCAL’s internal checks and balances require layers of approval before any expenditure reaches her desk.
“The National Oil Company of Liberia is not a sole proprietorship, meaning the head of the company is not the Lord and Gospel. It’s a public operations. They have levels, they have commands, the way you raise funding and pass through the chains of command,” she explained.
In addressing the CSRF structure, Dennis said, “I refer them to the Vice President for Administration, who’s head of CSRF… because I don’t deal with CSR.”
Dennis maintains that she is being unfairly portrayed as corrupt while the same government investigating her quietly benefited from millions channeled through the very same funding mechanism she is being vilified for.
“I just came up to use this medium to appeal to the LACC to fast track my report,” she said. “I need peace of mind, and I have a right to express myself that cannot be taken away from me.”
Her tone throughout the podcast was calm but assertive, rejecting the narrative that she had enriched herself while managing public resources.
“My life has not changed. Where I live is where I lived when I was representative and working with African Petroleum. So it’s what I still have,” she said. “Everything about me is open.”
The suspended NOCAL CEO said her accusers are engaging in “hypocrisy” and “double standards,” weaponizing investigations for political ends while ignoring similar behavior when it serves their interests.
“A country called Liberia… Sorry to say that a lot of people either misinterpret your writings. Other people do it for hypocrisy. People do it to get connected. People use you to get to the power that be,” she said.
Dennis said she walked into the LACC “confidently” and cooperated fully with investigators, submitting documents and referencing internal departments responsible for the transactions.
“The CEO of a company will not take a company from the street and sound check. It doesn’t work that way,” she stated. “LACC invited almost everybody that they felt was necessary to the investigation.”
Yet four months after her appearance, she remains in limbo with no official word from the Commission.
“I waited March, I waited April, and I’m waiting in May, and it’s bothering me,” she said. “If I’m accused of a crime as alleged, the LACC has all right to go into the investigation… I also have the right as an accused to be relieved if the investigation does not show that I am guilty.”
“I am only calling for speeded progress in my report. I want to know the outcome of that report. I want to have peace of mind,” she said. “In the end of it, I just want to be free.”
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