MONROVIA – In the wake of accusations made by Senator Prince Yormie Johnson, founder and former Political Leader of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) that President George Manneh Weah and his Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) are planning to assassinate him because of his (Johnson’s) refusal to support a Weah second term bid at the 2023 polls, President George Manneh Weah has vehemently refuted the allegation and stating in clear term that there is no iota of truth in the insinuation as “nobody is after him”, while also maintaining that he is not going to give any money to anyone to get their support towards the ensuing general election.
Making the unsettling disclosure last Sunday at his private worship sanctuary, President Weah for the first time affirmed the Magnitsky sanction’s “pay for play” accusation against Senator Johnson, stating “people that you do things for every day, when they ready, they want to blackmail you. Anybody in Liberia wants to vote for us, it will not be by blackmail. Anybody that asks me for money because they want to declare for my party, I’d rather give the money to the people of Liberia”.
According to President Weah, Senator Johnson is lying that elements within the CDC are out to kill him. “Do I look like somebody that can kill somebody? But you’re forgetting to know that those that you killed already, maybe they’re running behind you,” President Weah said of Senator Johnson.
President Weah went further to put his foot down, stating that he will not allow anyone to threaten or lie on him for money because of his decision to seek re-election at the October polls.
“Even though you said somebody wants to assassinate you, who are you that somebody wants to run behind? Nobody wants to run behind you. You’re manipulating people every day – give me this, give me that. Are you infallible? We’re not working with you again. You can go where you want to go. Now, you come say the government wants to kill you. No government will kill you. We know what you did in this country. We are not afraid of anybody.
“This government is not going to be blackmailed by anybody. You don’t want to work with us, go on the side; you’ve got other people. You’ve forgotten to know that we are in a coalition, and this coalition brought everybody on board. And the leader of the coalition has to meet with all of the people. And you the leader of the coalition, if you’re leaving, you have to leave with all of your people. Those that are on job, we will move them and put new people. Those that are on the job, when you hear that your political leaves, you should know it’s your own livelihood; then don’t follow him. You have to stick for your own livelihood, for your children and your family. Don’t mind them. If you follow them, we have to give other people space. We will not pay five cents to anybody who will not support us,” President Weah stated emphatically in his last Sunday sermon.
It can be recalled that Nimba County Senator Prince Y. Johnson recently accused the CDC-led Government of President George Manneh Weah of planning to secretly assassinate him because of his refusal to support a Weah second term bid at the 2023 presidential polls.
Senator Johnson’s statement came in the wake of his earlier revelation that his MDR would not renew the agreement signed October 2017 which ended October 2022, binding their support to the governing Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), due to what the MDR termed as complete breach on the part of the Weah government.
“There is no document any longer binding us. However, they have been appealing to us to support them, but we said no, we have a candidate. And they are desperate for that support. And because they feel we are standing in their way, and they cannot get Nimba support, and they may be the loser, so there are a lot of threats coming against us, especially when I preached on Sunday on the theme: “What you want may not be what you need,” Senator Johnson had intoned.
Senator Johnson is also on record for accusing the Weah government for refusing to pay to the citizens of Nimba County the US$7.5 million that was disbursed into Government accounts as ArcelorMittal Liberia’s commitment to the County Social Development Fund.
Senator Johnson also challenged President Weah to make public the turnover note between the erstwhile administration of Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and his (Weah’s) new administration, because, according to Senator Johnson, President Weah lied when he said he inherited a broke economy, when in fact the turnover note allegedly included US$150 million that was inherited by the Weah government.
“This morning, I called a press conference at my office to critique the Annual Message like other political leaders. Since 2018 when Mr. Weah took power, he has always said ‘empty coffers, empty coffers; broken economy’. At one point in time, Madam Sirleaf was abroad and she heard it, and she spoke on VOA, and said she left so much money, if you had tampered with the people’s money, don’t bring it to me. I know about that; because before Ellen could leave power, she declared a moratorium on all government expenditures. No ministry was allowed to spend a cent because she was looking for money to leave behind for the new government. Ellen is my big sister, I have direct access to her house. So I was able to see somewhere the copy of that turnover note, and in that turn over note, what caught my eyes directly was the amount of US$150 million,” Senator Johnson narrated.
Senator Johnson stated that based on his insistence to bring the Weah government to answer to the $150 million inherited from the Sirleaf administration; and his MDR’s decision to field a presidential candidate, his life has been threatened by anti-democratic forces within the Weah government.
The Nimba County senator specifically fingered Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Koijee as the brainchild behind his assassination threats.
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