VP Taylor Shreds Opposition’s Message -“Who Are They Rescuing?”

MONROVIA: Indications that fierce political exchanges will ensure between the ruling establishment, the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and the opposition community in the ensuing electoral period reared up yesterday, Thursday, May 18, 2023, when the Vice President, Madam Jewel Howard Taylor took an aim against the Unity Party campaign team which said the party is on a ‘rescue mission’ to democratically wrestle power from President George Manneh Weah, come October 10, 2023. She then asked rhetorically “Who are they rescuing”, adding that it was a figment of imagination that the former ruling party will think of ever returning to power.

VP Howard Taylor made the assertion yesterday at the Capitol Building when she graced a program  of staffers of the national legislature in support of President George Manneh Weah’s reelection bid under the aegis of “Majority Staff Members of the National Legislature”  who had organized the gathering to condemn and dissociate themselves from an earlier endorsement of the UP presidential ticket of former Vice President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and Senator Jeremiah Kpan Koung by another group which called itself the Legislative Staff Association where they pledged their support to the ticket and vowed to mobilize their members and others for the victory of the opposition ticket.

“Over the past few days, I have been asking what they call a rescue mission. I have been hearing about the system they want to rescue. Are they rescuing themselves or Liberia?

“When people are talking about rescue missions, you are talking about trying to save people from a very dangerous or difficult situation and I want to say from a majority point of view that what they are talking about is not what you call a rescue mission.

“The Unity Party had 12 years uninterrupted. I know what this meant as a senior senator, where some systemic restriction was put on the opposition. You go to meet your people and as soon as you leave, those who come to meet you will be dismissed.

“So, they want to start something called a rescue mission. Rescue for who?”, VP Taylor questioned the UP campaign mantra.

VP Taylor said it seemed that the UP is bent on using the concept of “rescue mission” loosely without knowing the true meaning of it and what should constitute a rescue mission.

Expanding on the issue, she said in the first place if any serious group of people who want to rescue a situation must have a plan and questioned whether the UP has any plan for the country and its people. She said President Weah upon ascendency to power in 2018 “hit the ground running with the PADP and we are working hard to implement it that will help the country and its people”

She said as an attribute of good leadership, President Weah had gone beyond the ordinary by being of a relief to some prominent opposition figures during the 2020 midterm senatorial race by extending financial assistance to them in order to embark upon their respective campaigns even when they were not in support of the President and his government. VP Taylor’s direct  statement against some opposition figures  drew cheers from the crowd when she mentioned the name of Senator Abraham Darius Dillon as one of the beneficiaries that got financial support from the President.

The VP who is the running mate to President Weah on the ticket of the Coalition for Democratic Change in the October 10, 2023 general election, said the other requirement to rescue something is to build a team of leaders and be a player in the process because if it is done, then those involved will work towards the goal set by the leader and stated that over time, the President was able to build a team that has been working towards achieving results in all sectors of the economy.

“Ask them to show their record of what they have done for their people. Ask them what has been their activities in the national legislature for those who are lawmakers. What have they been doing? If you don’t have records of doing anything for your people and country then you can’t rescue anything”, VP Taylor said amid cheers from the audience.

Speaking further, VP Howard Taylor said she was compelled to spell out what people should consider a rescue mission because it seemed to be that the UP wants to take the people for a ride with things they could not do or will not be able to do if given power. She said the person who wants to lead a rescue mission “must be a person of action who will act immediately when something happens”

“President Weah has been that kind of leader who responds to situations swiftly and takes decisions that bring out development to the people. Just look at the level of infrastructure development like roads the President has delivered in the country.

“Where was VP Boakai in all those 12 years. Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf gave him the leverage to be in charge of a lot of projects in the country in health, education, agriculture, among others but where is his record? What did Boakai do for the Lofa people for 12 years, especially the road that leads there? What have been his impacts in Lofa, in government? Where are his records? How can he rescue the nation?”, she said, drewing cheers and laughter from the people.

VP Howard Taylor, speaking further told the Liberian people to be wary of the VP pick of the Unity Party which was actually a tacit way of nominating Senator Prince Y. Johnson of Nimba County as the defacto VP pick, asserting “so it is actually Senator Prince Johnson and if anything happens you will be seeing Prince Johnson to be in charge”.

“So, we have to be very careful here. If you are picking your Vice President, you must know that the person and you are on the same page, someone who you will trust and who others will trust. But we are coming to the campaign season to tell our people about this whole VP issue in the Unity Party. We will tell our people the whole secret about it”, she said.

The Vice President did not also spare Representative Yekeh Kolubah of District #10 whom she said prides himself of abusing the President all the time in plenary as an achievement without showing what he has done for the people of his district. She said it will not be anything strange to her if the lawmaker embarks on abusing her but “truth must be told that Representative Yekeh Kolubah has failed the people of District #10, where I also reside”.

“We want to see what he has done for the people of District #10. This is the area I live as well but it is coming to the election season and I will be there to ask the people what he has been doing for them, not just sitting in plenary and abusing the President or talking about his gas slips.

VP Taylor said the President has done enough for the country and has been a very responsive leader who understands the needs of the people, stressing that his achievements will speak for him and make the case for his re-election come October 10, 2023.

“Look at the issue of Covid. During the Covid, all over the world, almost everything was shut down, people were laid off from work, governments stopped paying workers but for us, the President made sure that though people were not going to work, they were paid their salaries. The economy has taken an upward trajectory and we have been seeing a lot of development coming on stream.

“If you go to the Southeast of the country, you have even more electricity than some of the urban areas, life is normal there, the only challenge they face there is the issue of road which the government is attaching serious attention to nationwide”, she said.

Also speaking at the occasion, Representative Moses Acarous Gray of District #8, Montserrado County, who picked holes in the advocacy of the opposition community especially the Unity Party where a series of attacks were launched at the ruling establishment. He described as “deceptive” the position of some of the lawmakers who are disowning actions they have taken collectively with their colleagues in the national legislature for their selfish reasons”

He said such actions merit expulsion from the national legislature because it has to do with impeaching the reputation of the body especially so when such lawmakers played active roles in taking those actions they are disowning.

For his part, Speaker Bhofal Chambers said the ruling CDC has been committed to the development of the country through impactful projects, mentioning about the massive interventions the government has undertaken in Nimba County in terms of infrastructure development.

Earlier, a statement condemning the endorsement of former Vice President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and Senator Jeremiah Kpan Koung by some staffers of the national legislature was read by a representative of the group which called itself the Majority Staffers of the National Legislature.

“We the members of the Majority members of the staff of the House of Representatives and the House of Senate of the national legislature categorically condemn the unruly behavior of a group of people claiming to be employees.

“The group acting under the banner, Legislative Staffers Association, made insulting statements on the President while declaring support for the Unity Party. We wish therefore to distance ourselves from whatever claims made by the group and hereby pledge our support to the re-election of President George Manneh Weah and the Coalition for Democratic Change come October 10, 2023”, the group said.

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