A sitting lawmaker has publicly urged President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to abandon any bid for a second term. Nimba County District #7 Representative Musa Hassan Bility issued the appeal in an open letter to the President. Bility, political leader of the opposition Citizens Movement for Change (CMC), framed the plea as a final act of national service. His argument rests partly on age, noting Boakai would be well into his eighties by 2029. Yet it reaches further, into legacy, succession, and the deepening drug crisis. The lawmaker claims officials around the President are guarding their own narrow interests. He also demands answers about who financed and protected recently seized narcotics, as THE ANALYST reports.
Nimba County District #7 Representative Musa Hassan Bility made the appeal in an open letter addressed to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai. Bility, who is also political leader of the opposition Citizens Movement for Change (CMC), said he wrote from Belgium and cited a long personal acquaintance with the President.
The lawmaker framed his message as a final act of national service rather than a personal attack. He argued that Liberia is in serious difficulty and that the President still has time to change its direction.
An Argument On Age
Bility based part of his case on age, noting that Boakai would be 84 at the 2029 election and 85 at the next inauguration. A further six-year term, he wrote, would take the President to 91.
The Representative stressed that the point was not an insult, saying age deserves respect. He argued, however, that the presidency demands physical strength and daily vigilance that another term would strain.
Warning About Loyalists
Bility claimed that some officials encouraging the President to run again are protecting their own positions and access rather than his legacy. Their interest, he said, lies in his continued candidacy.
Announcing that he would not run, the lawmaker argued, would not weaken the government but “liberate” it. Those wishing to contest 2029, he said, could leave to build the ruling Unity Party and present themselves to voters.
Pointed Questions On Drugs
On the narcotics crisis, Bility said the government can no longer attribute it solely to outsiders or political opponents. He wrote that a crisis of that scale raises questions about institutional failure and possible complicity within the state.
The CMC leader posed a series of questions about recently seized drugs, asking who financed, facilitated, protected, and expected to profit from them. He asked whether any government officials or security personnel were involved.
The Former VP Case
Bility wrote that the case against the former Vice President must be decided by a court on the evidence. He argued, however, that it cannot substitute for answering the wider questions surrounding the seized narcotics.
He called on the President to invite credible international partners to support an independent investigation. The evidence, he said, should determine who is prosecuted, whether inside or outside the government.
A Reform Agenda
Beyond the drug crisis, Bility urged the President to strengthen the independence of the Legislature and rebuild public confidence in national security. He called for competence and integrity to be placed above personal loyalty.
The Representative also pressed for electoral reform, including a transparent voters’ roll and a credible National Elections Commission (NEC). He urged that no official be shielded from investigation and no institution be placed above the law.
A Choice Of Legacy
Bility concluded that the President has more than three years to change Liberia’s direction and leave behind stronger institutions. He framed the decision as a choice between holding power and departing honorably.
Telling Liberia he will not run again, the lawmaker argued, would secure the President’s place in history. He closed by urging Boakai to “become the statesman Liberia needs.”