-Talk Shows Callers Blast Him for CPP Inner Wrangling

IPNEWS-Monrovia: It is widely believed and reported that in 2017 Vice President Joseph Boakai of the then ruling Unity Party (UP) lost to the main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) of George Weah due to Mr. Boakai’s ineffectiveness to control certain members of the UP who publicly insulted their former standard bearer, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, on her birthday at a program held at UP headquarters in Congo Town.

The ruling UP in 2017 was seeking a third term after President Sirleaf had successfully won two elections in 2005 and 2011 respectively. On that day at the party headquarters in Congo Town, former UP Chairman Wilmot Paye and party stalwart Varney Chairman along with other UP partisans reportedly rained insults at Madam Sirleaf in the presence of the UP 2017 standard bearer for what they believed was her refusal to support her Vice President of 12 years, Joseph Boakai to succeed her.

Although there is no tangible evidence to show that former President Sirleaf financially supported George Weah of the CDC to succeed her as President, the refusal of the former President to publicly endorse her Vice President of 12 years, in the 2017 elections is said to be one of the reasons some of her former partisans went bitter against her on her birthday.

Even after the program at the UP headquarters, the new UP standard bearer, Joseph Boakai also failed to calm down his UP supporters on social media who continue to insult at his former boss. Apparently that might have broken the camel’s back as former President Sirleaf showed no interest in her vice president and he went on to lose to George Weah in 2017.

Fast forward to 2021, the former ruling Unity Party is now in a collaboration with three other opposition political parties, including All Liberia Party (ALP) of Mr. Benoni Urey, Alternative National Congress (ANC) of Alexander Cummings and the Liberty Party (LP) previously lead by erudite Liberian lawyer, now deceased, Charles Brumskine. The coalition is known as “Coalition of Political Parties (CPP)”.

According to the CPP’s framework document/agreement, the coalition will select its standard bearer for the 2023 presidential election based on three frameworks – Consultation, Voters’ Perception Survey and Primary.

But even before the CPP could even start its framework document/agreement, one of the political leaders of a party within the CPP, Benoni Urey (ALP) publicly endorsed Joseph Boakai of the UP as his favorite to lead the CPP to the 2023 elections. Political pundits then branded Urey’s endorsement of Boakai in the early stages of the CPP as immature and lacked political expediency. “Urey knows fully well that the CPP consisting of four political parties had different interests but with time they would corroborate their common ideologies and select the CPP standard bearer for the 2023 elections based a framework document/agreement,” One CPP supporter said at the time.

According to Urey his reason for favoring Boakai to lead the CPP in 2023 is due to his experience, past records in government and that he is transparent and full of integrity. Pundits however believe in as much as Urey has his personal reasons to prefer former VP Boakai, he needed to wait for the time to vote him but to publically endorse him in the absence of a framework document was wrong.

Since Urey’s pronouncement to publicly endorse VP Boakai for the CPP standard bearership, there have been consent row within the CPP. Joseph Boakai who is a ‘big brother’ within the CPP according to most talk show callers on Tuesday morning has failed to calm the storm in the collaboration.

“The former Vice President sits back and allegedly allow his supporters within the CPP to front for him and spews lies as well as insult his colleagues, particularly ANC leader Alexander Cummings because the ANC leader is vying to also head the CPP in 2023. VP Boakai does not want competition that is why he is afraid of Cummings,” one caller on a popular radio station said on Tuesday.

Another caller states “the former Vice President does not stand up to taking tough decision independently but always shy away and would rather prefer people to front for him. He needs to take charge to lead at this crucial in the CPP to show to Liberians he can lead the country. But it seems he lacks control and leadership qualities.”

Recently, the Alternative National Congress (ANC), one of the founding political parties within the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) accused former Vice President Joseph Boakai for doing nothing as he watches the Political Leader of the All Liberian Party (ALP) Benoni Urey puke out lies against the ANC political leader, Mr. Alexander Cummings.

“Amb. Boakai remains content, and appallingly silent, in the face of evil lies against Mr. Cummings because it benefits him politically to make it appear as a fight between Cummings and Urey. But we are aware and the evidence is irrefutable that this is Amb. Boakai’s proxy war against Mr. Cummings, being fought by a man with depraved indifference to decency, truth and honesty,” Aloysius Toe, ANC National Secretary General asserted.

Recently, the ALP Political Leader alleged that the Framework Document of the CPP was altered by what he termed as nefarious and fraudulent individuals within the CPP.

But addressing journalists at the ANC National Headquarters in Congo Town Monday, the ANC National Secretary General, Aloysius Toe said Mr. Urey did not indicate or provide any shred of evidence to substantiate his wild claims and allegations. According to him, Mr. Urey did not say exactly what was altered in the document or who altered it.

Toe says the allegations from the ALP Political leader were false and inaccurate. He added that the Framework Document of the CPP has not been altered by any individuals, least to talk about his political leader, Cummings.

Toe added that all of the allegations coming from Mr. Urey are intended to impede the quest of Mr. Cummings for the CPP’s Standard Bearer ship. “But far from Urey’s devious allegations, neither Alexander Cummings nor the ANC altered provisions of the Framework Document. In fact, no provision of the Framework Agreement was added or removed,” Toe said.

He revealed that the final framework document was signed via Zoom on May 19, 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak. And during the process, each political leader, party chairman and their support staff were at separate locations during the signing and were only connected via Zoom. He further said that Senator Lawrence was in Grand Bassa, Amb. Boakai in Paynesville, Mr. Cummings in Sinkor, and Mr. Urey was presumably on his farm in Careysburg.

“Each Political Leader had one original copy of the Framework Document and one signature page to sign on,” he noted.

According to ANC National Secretary General, after the signing and publication of the Framework Document, there was massive public backlash on the provision of the Framework Document; indicating that employment would only be for known and visible CPP members.

The backlash, he said prompted the need for a legal revision of the Framework Document, in order to ensure that it met legal, statutory and constitutional standards.

“All political leaders and party executives agreed that there should be a revision by relatively independent reputable lawyers after the signing. Even Urey recently admitted in an audio clip, that all of the political leaders knew about and authorized the revisions by the lawyers,” ANC Toe said.

Toe added that the final framework document submitted by the legal committee, approved by all members of the CPP, and filed at the National Elections Commission has not been altered.

According to ANC’s Toe, what is even more interesting is that while Urey continues to lie and cause trouble in the CPP, nothing is being done to hold him accountable.

“This is a man who should not even be sitting at any table to discuss Liberia’s future because of his evil past, yet he is being allowed to destroy the CPP,” he said.

Also in the press conference, the ANC accused the political leader of the Liberty Party of compromising her neutrality role in the search for the CPP standard-bearer; accusing her of working behind the scene as she is seeking for the Vice President position of the CPP.

“Sen. Karnga-Lawrence has compromised her neutrality and independence and, instead, become an underground instigator and co-conspirator in the campaign of lies against Mr. Cummings; leaking internal confidential CPP information and communications to the public, including Costa, to denigrate Cummings, because she is working assiduously hard to become Amb. Boakai’s Vice President. It is a shame that the plot to ruin the CPP happened under her leadership.”

ANC Toe is also calling on the CPP, through its Chair, Senator Kargar-Lawrence, requesting her to make Urey to show the provisions of the Framework Document that were altered.

“Ambassador Joseph Nyumah Boakai, as an elder in the CPP, must tell the public whether or not Urey’s allegation is true that they did not approve the lawyers’ work. Unless Amb. Boakai publicly comes clean on this; we hold the belief that it is a conspiracy between Mr. Urey and Amb. Boakai in trying to use illegal means to avoid defeat at the CPP primary,” Toe said.

He added: “The lawyers of CPP must speak to the veracity of whether or not the Framework Document filed at the National Elections Commission has any provision(s) altered, removed or added from what they submitted as the final amended Framework Document.”