MONROVIA – In what appears to be a forceful and unambiguous response to “deeply regrettable” and “unprofessional” public comments regurgitated by an official of the Ministry of Information, Sinoe County Senator Crayton Duncan issued a scathing statement.
The Senate’s rebuke, released by his media consultant T. Patrick Wiah, came hours after Deputy Minister Sando publicly dismissed the Senator’s critique of government performance as “madness,” while making personal jabs at Duncan’s character and background.
“To publicly question the mental fitness and upbringing of a sitting Senator is an affront not just to Senator Duncan, but to the people of Sinoe County who elected him,” the statement read. “Such language is beneath the office of a Deputy Minister of Information.”
Senator Duncan described Sando’s comments as not only defamatory but a symptom of a “toxic shift toward the politics of personal destruction.”
The statement accused the Deputy Minister of misrepresenting his development track record in Sinoe County while deflecting from the broader national issues raised including economic hardship, youth unemployment, and poor infrastructure.
In a detailed rebuttal, the Senator’s office outlined several tangible development achievements under Duncan’s leadership including full WAEC/WASSCE sponsorship for all high school students in Greenville since 2015, construction of clinics, high schools, market buildings, youth centers, and bridges since his election to the House in 2017, and provision of three 72-seater buses for student transportation recently replaced after vandalism as well as direct business loans provided to women in the local market sector.
These accomplishments, according to the statement, are publicly documented and well-known to the people of Sinoe County.
“The people of Sinoe promoted Senator Duncan from Representative to Senator not for ‘empty rhetoric,’ but for results they could see and feel,” the statement asserted.
The Senator’s office issued three specific demands which include a public retraction and apology from Deputy Minister Sando to the people of Sinoe County and Senator Duncan, an intervention from Minister of Information Jerolinmek M. Piah, reaffirming professional standards within the Ministry, a shift in focus by the Boakai administration from political attacks to delivering on key policy issues.
Beyond defending his own record, Senator Duncan reiterated the essential role of public officials in fostering respectful dialogue. He emphasized that constructive criticism is a democratic right, not a provocation for insult.
“We will not be deterred by baseless insults from fulfilling our constitutional mandate to speak truth to power,” the Senator stated.
During the Thursday’s press briefing, Deputy Minister Daniel O Sando, doubled down on the Sinoe County Senator Crayton Duncan who had alleged that President Joseph Boakai was “too old” and had “failed the country”.
Deputy Minister Sando dismissed the Senator’s assertions as “complete madness,” openly questioning Duncan’s sense of judgment and his capacity as a leader.
“There is something fundamentally wrong with Senator Duncan for saying the government has failed,” Sando stated, pointing to “visible progress” under the Boakai administration, highlighting the rehabilitation of roads leading to Sinoe County, Duncan’s own constituency—that are now accessible even in the rainy season.
“This is a development Duncan himself failed to deliver for his people,” Sando argued, insisting that the Senator’s criticism is baseless.
The Deputy Minister went further, branding Duncan a “spineless and unprincipled so-called young leader.”
He also linked the Senator’s remarks to poor personal values.
“If Senator Duncan had been properly raised, he would not have spoken so disrespectfully about the President,” Sando remarked.
The heated exchange underscores rising political tensions as the Boakai administration defends its record on infrastructure and governance against growing opposition critiques suggesting otherwise.