MONROVIA – Just a little over a year into his six-year term, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai whose ascendancy to the Executive Mansion in January 2024 was accentuated by his promise to ensure good governance and enhancement of the rule of law, is now being chastised by those who worked overtime to bring him to power. Over the weekend, Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon who headed President Boakai’s 2023 presidential campaign in the nation’s most vote rich county, expressed his frustration over how the Executive Branch through the office of the President’s legal advisor has failed to provide cogent advisory to the presidency which has led to serious blunders that undermine good governance. As The Analyst reports, Senator Dillon has called on the Senate to cite President Boakai Legal Advisor to address issues concerning the type of advice he’s giving the presidency that is causing so many blunders leading to bad governance.
Addressing his colleagues last Thursday, Senator Dillon made a strong case to cite the legal advisor to the president so he can tell us what kind of advice he is giving to the president on these tenure issues; on legal research before the president appoints individuals to certain positions.
“As we go on break, the judicial committee must be empowered by this body to have a discussion or hearing with the legal advisor to the president so that immediately upon our return, a report can be ready for plenary’s consideration,” Senator Dillon said.
Speaking further, the loquacious Senator cautioned his colleagues to be serious about the governance issues that are plaguing the country.
“I am not saying we are not serious, but we should add more seriousness. This is called oversight. Senator Snowe and the Senate raised the issue about LEC and, in keeping with the law, the president has sent the LEC Managing Director for confirmation.
“Madam Pro Tempore, I am asking this Senate to summon the President’s Legal Advisor. We need to deal with this president’s legal advisor to know what kind of legal advice he’s giving this president. The legal blunder that comes from the Executive Mansion is too much.
“When I hear people say only the Minister of Justice can disagree with the president and they leave it blanket, it’s not just true like that. The law is clear. The Minister of Justice cannot disagree with the President on policy and political issues. The Minister of Justice can disagree with the President publicly on the issues of the law. What is the wisdom about that? Because it is assumed that not every president or no president may have the legal knowledge. For example, Ellen Johnson Sirelaf was president, and she said prostitution is not a crime in Liberia. Frances Johnson Morris was Minister of Justice at the time. She didn’t go to the Mansion quietly to disagree with the president. She did it publicly because that’s what the law calls for. To talk about the law, you must know the law. It is the Attorney General of the Republic that knows the law,” Dillon said.
Senator Dillon’s call for the summoning of President Boakai’s legal advisor comes in the wake of the Executive’s nomination of individuals to occupy tenured positions in total disregard of the Act that established the Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA), the Governance Commission (GC), the National Public Health Institute (NPHIL), the National Lottery, and the National Identification Registry (NIR).
At the Liberia Telecommunications Authority, four Commissioners are yet to exhaust their 30 months tenure, while another Commissioner has about 36 months, a situation that could cost the Government about US$1 million in settlement.
It can be recalled that the Commissioners wrote to President Boakai about their plight, stating: “We write to draw your attention to a matter of considerable concern regarding our roles within the LTA. As you are aware, we currently serve under tenure within the organization, each of us having two-plus years remaining in our terms. However, it has recently come to our attention that new appointments have been made to the same position we occupy, notwithstanding our existing tenures.
“While we appreciate that such decisions are often made with careful deliberation and in the national interest, we believe there may have been a misunderstanding regarding the status of our tenures. As members of the board of commissioners of the LTA, we feel compelled to remind Your Excellency of our tenured status. Part Three, Section 9(3) of the Telecommunication Act of 2007, which established the LTA, explicitly prohibits the executive from replacing board members during their unexpired terms. The term of office for the commissioners shall be four years. The appointment of any commissioner may be renewed by the president for another term of four years. No member of the Commission shall serve for more than two terms,” they said.