“Use Ballots If You Want Regime Change” – Min. Nagbe

LINA – Information Minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe has called on those seeking a change of national leadership to make use of the ballots through the democratic process in 2023.
Speaking Friday on a local radio talk show in Monrovia, Nagbe stated that while most of the would-be participants of a purportedly planned protest want to exercise their democratic rights, there are a few others who see the exercise as a chance for regime change, adding:”If you want to change the regime you have to wait for 2023. Use the ballots and no other means.”
He said the planned June 7 protest is unrealistic and hypocritical, stressing that most of the organizers of the protest were in previous governments that contributed to the downward trend of the Liberian economy.
The Information minister described the planned protest as a “storm in a tea cup” which, according to him, poses no threat to the peace and stability of the country, “The country is not at threat of destruction as some people want it to be.”
Nagbe indicated that the government of Liberia will allow the protesters to exercise their democratic rights, noting: “If you think your job as opposition is to demonstrate at all times not to support the country or build the good image of the country, then go ahead. For us as a government, our job is to do everything that will make the country better.”
“The government has its role to play, likewise the opposition. The government of Liberia will continue to do all it can positively to ensure that the lives of the Liberian people are improved,” Nagbe stressed.
Nagbe assured the protesters of the government’s protection on the day of the exercise but cautioned them to be law-abiding and responsible in carrying out their protests,
“People have their rights to exercise, their democratic rights and we respect that. But they must do so within the confines of the law.”
“We will accept their petition and read it in good faith if their march is orderly. We expect the march to be peaceful because there are many of them who just want to exercise their democratic rights,” Nagbe asserted.
“We will not overreact because people want to exercise their democratic rights. If they want to march they will march. The faction of the June 7 protesters that want to present their statement we will show them the route. Police will be with them,” Nagbe noted.
Meanwhile, the Information Minister has said the priority of the government is to instil austerity measures to address the current economic situation in the country, adding that hard decisions need to be taken to remedy the situation.
He disclosed that the government of Liberia is working closely with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in taking some necessary decisions that will resuscitate the Liberian economy for the betterment of the citizenry.