MONROVIA : The opposition Liberty Party’s estranged Political Leader, who was conspicuously absent on April 28, 2023 when former Vice President Joseph Nyuma Boakai named Nimba County Senator Jeremiah Kpan Koung as his running mate in the 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections, has officially endorsed the Boakai-Koung ticket as the best vehicle to rescue Liberia.
Grand Bassa County Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, who took the bold step during an elaborate and well-organized endorsement ceremony held Sunday, May 14, 2023 in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, said she chose to endorse the Boakai-Koung ticket instead of serving as Vice President to Mr. Alexander Cummings because of the duplicitous role that the Alternative National Congress (ANC) played in destabilizing her political institution.
Speaking on her preferred endorsement choice on Sunday at the eventful ceremony that included current and former Unity Party stalwarts and officials, as well as partisans from like-minded political institutions, Senator Lawrence said following the nomination of her colleague Jeremiah Koung by Ambassador Boakai, she received in audience at her residence in Buchanan, some national political actors, seeking the approval of her team and herself to feature on their tickets.
“Mr. Alexander B. Cummings, followed by Ambassador Boakai who had come a few days following the nomination, to see me for the consolidation of our efforts. Then, came one of Liberia’s best legal minds and astute statesman, Cllr. Tiawon Gongloe of the Liberian People’s Party (LPP). Our team met with teams designated by these individuals and had frank discussions. Those discussions and the different layers of consultations have given us an insight into why and how we must act.
“In relation to Mr. Cummings’ ANC, we do not see it necessary to form a political alliance at this time. We believe actors on our national political stage must have a deeper self-examination of trending political events that could lend themselves to political collaboration or the reverse thereof. In Liberty Party’s specific case, it would be a deviation and indeed a betrayal of the trust and confidence of our thousands of partisans to unwittingly find the Political Leader sitting on the ticket with Mr. Cummings in light of his unending support to the man whose desire is to render Liberty Party politically paralyzed and divided. As a matter of fact, Mr. Bility is recalcitrant that he does not recognize the authority of the Political Leadership of the Liberty Party, something that the ANC, through its actions and inactions, tacitly supported and concretized all along, thereby rendering his belated attempt to change course to have limited effect.
“What is even more disturbing and unconscionable is the fact that the ANC folks are inclined to believe that the only way we could gain control of LP is to accept the running mate slot, and every other thing will fall into place. To accept such an offer will demonstrate sheer greed for power on our part, and this will be the less honorable path to tread.
“In essence, to form a presidential ticket with individuals who conspired with a compromised system to rob us of deserved justice, would only be interpreted as approving the same system that we are endeavoring to change. Even more, it would be a demonstration of desperation for political power. We could never and will never fall in such trap,” Senator Lawrence stated.
With regards to her decision to reserve accepting the running mate offer from Cllr. Tiawon Gongloe, Political Leader of the Liberian People’s Party (LPP), Senator Lawrence said although she recognizes Cllr. Gongloe’s endless fight for social justice and economic opportunities for the Liberian people, wherein both in public and private life, he has demonstrated, like the Liberty Party’s late founding father Cllr. Charles W. Brumskine, an unwavering commitment to reforms in the Liberian society, however, overwhelming feedback from consultations with Liberty Party partisans and supporters both at home and abroad did not favor a pairing with Cllr. Gongloe at this time.
Further explaining the rationale behind her team’s decision to endorse the Boakai-Koung ticket, Senator Lawrence intimated that, despite not being named as running mate to former Vice President Boakai, she and her team had long ago decided to team up with the Unity Party Standard Bearer to embark on a rescue mission, against the background of Joseph Boakai’s public service records, qualification, experience and his love for country.
“To simply disengage from this process on account of not being named as running mate, would speak less of our honesty and commitment to contributing to the change that Liberia so deserves and finds in the person of Ambassador Boakai.
“Therefore, in consideration of the selfless agenda that we brought to the table when we embarked on the journey with this astute statesman and following two weeks of consultations with a broad spectrum of the membership of our party, stakeholders and sympathizers at home and abroad, I am pleased to announce that we wholeheartedly endorse the Boakai-Koung Ticket.
“As we set the train in motion for the rescue mission, I call on all Liberians including our partisans and supporters across the length and breadth of Liberia and in the diaspora to join us to support this ticket. It is about the country and its future. Liberia stands to regain its lost image if we all work for the success of this ticket.
“By this decision, we know that we are standing against some of the powerful people of this country. But please bear with us, it’s time to set a new agenda for our country. And we want to actively contribute in setting that new agenda. Let God be God and man be man.
“To our international partners, we say thank you for your involvement with Liberia from the inception of the civil crisis to now. We know that you can and will do more to help us guide our democratic course. We have an ardent desire to work for that Liberia that our children and our children’s children, would be proud of. Now is the time. A new Liberia is on the horizon. We must, as a nation, stand tall to the challenge.
“To the women of Liberia, I stand here as the chairperson of the women legislative caucus, the first female Senator of Grand Bassa County serving two terms, the only female in the Liberian Senate of 30 members for two years until I was joined by another woman, a female political leader, one of the champions of female participation,
“I call on all the women of Liberia to join me in this effort not because the ticket is a perfect ticket as there is no perfection anywhere, but because the two individuals on the ticket – Amb. Joseph Boakai and Jeremiah Koung are two of the proudest sons gifted to our nation by two humble and struggling women; two of the proudest sons with a plan to THINK LIBERIA, LOVE LIBERIA, and BUILD LIBERIA. So, as mothers of the land, I call on you all to join me to embrace our children, our two fine sons, Joseph and Jeremiah, so that we can collectively rescue our country. And you know as well as I do, when we, the mothers, bless our children, God Almighty usually brings success to the family. Amb. Boakai and Senator Koung have asked me to be the Mother on the Rescue Team; and I, representing the women and girls on this rescue mission, wholeheartedly accept the offer.
“We thank God for His GRACE, and His Grace is sufficient for me. We thank the public for the love and support from across the nation Liberians in the diaspora, The UP Women in Liberia and the Diaspora. The LP Women in Liberia, the LP USA and LP Liberia, the people of the Bassa belt, Madam Julia Bundo and the entire What the Women Say organization, my colleagues in the Legislature, my private consultants and advisors, The Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence Movement, church leaders , elders and chiefs, my office staff, my social media fans, the Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence National Youth mentoring teams, The Nyonblee Cares Foundation, staffers of the Liberian Senate in support of our cause, my father and family and children; I thank ALL OF YOU for the endless love and support, most importantly I want to give a special recognition to the Liberty core team, we worked tirelessly and have agreed that it is not about us but Liberia. I want to, in a particular way, thank Mr. Jacob Smith for being the brain behind our party; to Senator Abraham Darius Dillon for being the Senator of the most popularity who has added value to our party; to my other colleagues, Senators Zargo, Kaipay and Barchue, for their commitment and wisdom to stay course, to our diaspora organization for its unending support, financially and morally, to the clergy men and women who stood by our founding father to lay the foundation of our party, to the Friends of Brumskine Organization for being the Foundation Stone, and many others who have stood in defending the cause of Liberty Party,” Senator Lawrence stated proudly, noting, “our loyalty to country is stronger and more important than our personal ambition or the personal ambition of any other individual.
Meanwhile, although there has been no official response from the CPP regarding Senator Lawrence’s endorsement statement, information reaching this paper suggests that Mr. Bility is seriously preparing to take the Grand Bassa County Senator to court.
“As far as Senator Lawrence is concerned, she’s disregarded the court ruling. The Liberty Party no longer has a political leader and she continues to call herself so, in complete violation and disobedience to the Supreme Court ruling. We will take advantage of the law to make sure that such doesn’t happen again. She has violated the Liberty Party constitution, she disobeyed the Supreme Court, and therefore, we will take advantage of the law.
“We anticipated what happened in Buchanan. We are going to an election, where at some point in time the opposition will need each other. A blatant violation of the law just because you want to score political points is not going to help unification. The Liberty Party will take the appropriate legal action to make sure that Senator Lawrence will no longer be able to stand and speak anywhere as Political Leader,” Chairman Bility said when he appeared on Spoon Talk on Sunday, following Senator Lawrence’s Buchanan endorsement of the Boakai-Koung ticket.
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