IPNEWS-Monrovia: It is now a reality that the political leader and standard bearer of the opposition Alternative National Congress (ANC), Mr. Alexander Benedict Cummings (ABC) is attracting more opposition politicians to his camp, evidenced with the gravitation of some stalwarts of the opposition bloc.
Prominent among some of the opposition politicians within the opposition bloc that have officially crossed over to the Mr. Cummings’ ANC, include the former Vice Chairman for Operations at the All Liberian Party (ALP) and their former local chairpersons in several counties, Mr. Sambola, who cited the dictatorial tendency of ALP political leader Benoni Urey as reason for quitting the ALP to join the ANC.
Additionally in August 2022, the former Chairman of the Governing Council of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Dr. Toga Gaywea McIntosh announced his support and pledged his allegiance to the Presidential bid of Mr. Alexander Cummings of the Alternative National Congress (ANC).
The former Liberian Foreign Minister explained that Cummings has exhibited “uncommon vision, remarkable wisdom, exemplary and purposeful leadership that will liberate the people and country from the current strangulation.” Dr. McIntosh in his statement stated that his decision followed a realistic assessment and appraiser of all political leaders of the major contending parties in the 2023 presidential race.
Dr. Toga G. McIntosh – he supports Cummings ANC and CPP standard bearer Alexander B. Cummings
Dr. McIntosh said the CDC change for hope has become a lost hope, and its promise to the Liberian people has become illusory hope to many.
He said in August that all social and economic indicators of the CDC shows that “we are far from taking Liberia to where we had promised, leaving our people disillusioned and heartbroken.”
He also noted the current situation requires a strong Liberian leadership team that is competent, resourceful, tested in administration and management and one that will create new opportunities for Liberians.
Dr. McIntosh vowed to support Mr. Cummings actively and openly as the most credible and purposeful presidential candidate that is committed and capable to bring real change and renew hope to the Liberian people.
It did not take long when another strong stalwart of the opposition bloc, former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Security Advisor during President Charles Taylor’s regime, and former Liberia’s Ambassador to the United Nations and former Minister of Information, Amb. Lewis Brown announced his endorsement of ANC’s Alexander B. Cummings for the presidency comes 2023.
Amb Lewis G. Brown- He supports Cummings Mr. David Benitoe – He supports Cummings
In his endorsement statement, Amb. Brown called on well-meaning Liberians to stand up and begin the transformational process that will lead Liberians out of a looming catastrophe.
Amb. Brown, one of the strategists who help to bring the Weah’s government to power, stated that the 2023 elections will not be the time or place to gamble on the lives of Liberians and the fate of the nation.
He stated recently that it is time Liberians both at home and abroad take a sober reflection on the danger that lies ahead to rescue Liberia and reset the agenda for change, national renewal, and development.
The former national security advisor to former Liberian president Charles Taylor said after six years of President George Weah’s leadership without progress, Liberians cannot afford to put the country’s progress, our lives, and that of our children on standby and false hopes.
The NPP executive said he endorses Mr. Alexander B. Cummings, Standard Bearer of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), as Liberia’s next president because he has the right character, temperament, integrity, and leadership credentials to move Liberia into the future we all seek and desired for ourselves and our children.
In a statement issued September 10, Amb. Brown said Liberia’s cherished peace is under stress, and that the 2023 general elections will be a critical determining factor in whether the country will retrogress into its dark days or progress as a nation.
“The decisions we make in 2023 about who will lead us, will also decide, at least for a generation, if our nation will rise or fall or if we will move backward or forward,” Mr. Brown said in September.
A signatory to the 2023 Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement which ended 14 years of brutal civil war, 19 years ago, Mr. Brown cautioned Liberians “that 2023 will be a critical turning point in the country’s 175 years, with absolutely no excuses for our mistakes, if we elect the wrong leaders.”
According to Amb. Brown, the CPP Standard Bearer, Mr. Cummings is an inspiration for a new mindset to reject wrongs, and a motivational force for Liberians to set new standards for themselves, aimed at making Liberia a better place for all.
“I stand with Cummings because of his boldness of vision, the freshness of ideas, the courage to continue fighting, when it seems easier to surrender, and the quality of leadership experience he has achieved to get things done,” Amb. Brown said.
The former Information Minister said “it imperative that Liberians commit to changing the dysfunctional and discredited system of governance, by electing a leader to be President, rather than re-electing a President, whom we hope might become a leader in 2023.”
Amb. Brown described the power of the President as extremely impactful in determining how the government performs and what it’s capable of becoming and achieving, noting that it’s critical as to who becomes President, Senators, and Representatives in 2023.
On Saturday, September 24, 2022, while addressing the Kukatornon Intellectual and Development Forum in Duala, Bushrod Island, the former executive director of the National Investment Commission (NIC) and a stalwart of the opposition Unity Party, George G. Wisner, pledged to canvass for the Standard Bearer of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) Mr. Alexander B. Cummings, ahead of the 2023 presidential and legislative elections.
“You all know me for my stand on national politics. I remain a member of the Unity Party but given the current precarious state of the economy, the deterioration of Liberia’s international image, and poor governance at this moment, the best person that can bring about renewal and rescue the country from this dilemma is the CPP, through its standard bearer, Alexander B Cummings”, Mr. Wisner declared.
A strategist and former national campaign coordinator for the UP in 2011, Mr. Wisner explained that his support for Mr. Cummings is based on the ANC leader’s history of effective leadership, values, discipline, honesty, and commitment to purpose, including his vision to economically transform Liberia.
According to him, he was one of the earliest vision bearers of the CPP back in 2018 when the idea of a united opposition was conceived.
“The reason I and other colleagues encouraged our political leaders then to form the CPP was to first establish a stronger opposition voice to the CDC and also create the democratic space within the opposition for constructive debate and the exchange of ideas, leading to the identification of a core team of leadership at all levels to move the country forward.”
Mr. Wisner: “The first 100 days of the CDC rule signaled that the country was headed for disaster.”
He maintained Mr. Alexander B. Cummings has been the only leader amongst the then four Political Leaders that constituted the CPP that remains true to the objectives of the CPP which was communicated to the Liberian people and embraced by majority of Liberians as was evidenced by its success in the 2020 special senatorial election.
He said it is unfair to betray the trust reposed in the CPP by the Liberian people, adding that although the CPP had some problems, they did not rise up to the level of warranting the disintegration of the institution.
Mr. Wisner regretted the decision of the leadership of the Unity Party to leave the CPP, but insisted that he remains a member of the Collaboration and will use all of his experience and expertise to achieve its objective to dislodge President Weah democratically and make Mr. Cummings President in 2023.
He blamed those he called selfish leaders of the CPP, who were allegedly penetrated and used by agents of the ruling CDC to divide and weaken the Collaboration, making specific reference to allegation of tempering with the CPP Framework Agreement, something, he terms as lies and deception.
Responding to an inquiry about why he endorsed the CPP and ANC standard bearer, Mr. Wisner responded, “I must say in this public forum, without any regret, that I do not only support the CPP but I support and endorse the candidacy of Mr. Alexander B. Cummings because of where the country is.”
“Don’t get me wrong. My old man, Vice President Joe Boakai is a good man and has served his nation but, now, we need a new vision, and this 2023 election will define Liberia – if we will go forward or continue the retrogression that we are experiencing under President Weah’s government.”
Mr. Wisner said he is proud of achievements made under former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, adding “I don’t intend to leave UP. However, at this moment of mass unemployment, reduced inflow of foreign direct investment, massive suffering, increasing poverty, and rising crime rate, I think it’s time to usher in new and fresh ideas to fix the problems.”
He said this is why he thought leaving the CPP was a sad mistake by the past leadership of the UP and disagrees with those who led the exit then and now.
Giving his perspective about the 2023 elections, the UP stalwart noted that the pressing problems Liberia faces today are economical, not political.
“It is about the bread-and-butter issue; it is about job creation and hope for the youth; it is about the growing hardship.”
He believes that to solve the numerous challenges, the country needs an effective leadership that is well-connected and able to command the respect of investors and the international community thus, adding that amongst the current political leaders aspiring for the Presidency, Mr. Alexander B. Cummings has the appropriate pedigree to fix Liberia.
Mr. Wisner was invited to give his perspectives on wide range of national issues, including the state of foreign direct investment flow to the country and to state his position on the current political dispensation as it relates to the upcoming elections.
In a related development, an executive of the opposition People’s Liberation Party (PLP), Mr. David Benitoe has endorsed the Presidential bid of Mr. Alexander B. Cummings, Standard Bearer of the Collaborating Political parties (CPP).
Mr. Benitoe, Vice Chairman for International Affairs of the PLP, described Mr. Cummings as the best choice, best educated, qualified and most energetic, among the three leading Presidential contenders in the 2023 Presidential and Legislative elections.
He said unlike, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Boakai is considering the presidency as place to retire, while President Weah views the Presidency as exploiting it to enrich himself, friends and family members.
Mr. Benitoe said just as some unscrupulous individuals are taking disadvantage of President Weah’s ignorance and limitations, to plunder the country’s resources, so also Unity Party remnants want to take advantage and are supporting Mr. Joseph Boakai’ knowing that he is old, weak and incapable of effectively managing the affairs of the country.
Benitoe said Liberians are currently living in the worst of conditions, compared to the harsh living conditions during the Country’s past 14 years of brutal civil war.
He described the Weah administration as the most inept and inefficient government with whole batch of half-baked educated, and lesser knowledge of governance, occupying strategic positions, and performing poorly to the annoyance of Liberia people, adding this is a disservice to the people.
Benitoe said his endorsement of the CPP Standard Bearer is about Liberia’s future and who can lead the country to economic prosperity, and bring relief to the suffering masses, noting that the cause of Liberia is greater than the interest of all political parties and individual politicians.
He called for sober reflection on the part of all Liberians to subdue their personal political interest and what they stand for benefit and rather, focus on the national interest and rally around the best educated, qualified and competent contender who has the potential and capability to lift Liberians from extreme suffering and poverty.
Cummings Gives Reasons for His Presidency
On June 9, 2022, the political leader of the opposition Alternative National Congress (ANC) and standard bearer of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), Mr. Alexander B. Cummings gave reasons why he is contesting Liberian presidency, adding it is to basically stop what he described as ‘business as usual’.
To achieve this, he has called on political, religious, traditional, and legal as well as community leaders, to join his campaign in cleansing the soul of the nation. “The duty falls on all of us to become better examples because the peaceful and prosperous future we seek depends on the values we embrace and nurture. Most importantly, our children need us to provide them with better examples, as our society needs us to become leaders of higher standards.”
According to the ANC political leader, his party focuses on moving forward, as they will continue to take the high road, and for the good of the country, focus on the future of Liberia, and not the attacks and sights of their recent past, even by friends and colleagues.
Mr. Cummings and two of his party officials, party Chairman Senator Daniel Naatehn and party Secretary General Cllr. Aloysius Toe were accused by a former constituent member of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), Benoni Urey of the All Liberia Party (ALP) of forging and altering a framework document of the CPP.
Mr. Cummings and his two officials were indicted and charged to court on what he terms as ‘bogus charges without any merit’.
After months of the trial, the Solicitor General of Liberia, Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephas dropped charges against Mr. Cummings and his ANC officials following a Supreme Court ruling that the exit clause contention between the ALP and another constituent member of the CPP – the Liberty Party, was unconstitutional, thus the Government of Liberia said there was no reason to continue to prosecute the ANC leaders.
In the aftermath of the Government’s decision to drop charges, Mr. Cummings in his statement on Thursday, June 9, 2022 asserted: “We will continue to oppose and disagree with the Weah-led Government, and even members of the opposition, who view public service as a chance to be served, to steal and to abuse the trust of the Liberian people. The mindset that we should take turns to continue to keep our country corrupt and our people poor is offensive and unacceptable, and the belief that politics is a dirty game where the ends always justify the means has only helped to keep our country backward. It is time to change these mindsets and beliefs.”
When he spoke in June on the current hardship Liberians are facing, Mr. Cummings had this to say: “It is time to change these mindsets and beliefs because rich as our country is blessed to be, Liberians do not deserve to be so poor, No family needs to go to bed hungry; no child needs to sit on dirt floors or stand under leaking roofs to learn; public hospitals need to have beds, medicines and modern equipment so that the best care for the sick is available everywhere in our country; and no one who is working needs to earn a wage that is not enough to minimally feed and care for their families.”
“It is time to change these mindsets and beliefs because rich as our country is, we do not need to be beggar nation that is constantly looking for handouts, and for others to do for our country what we can, and should be doing, for ourselves. We do not need to have families grieving repeatedly because of recurring mysterious deaths, murders and rapes, including of babies.”
He furthered: “it is time to change these mindsets and beliefs because Liberians do not need to accept that their streets and communities are to be crime and drug-infested. Liberians do not need to accept that public officials can only be partisans and incompetent. And Liberians do not need to resign their country into being considered as amongst the poorest, most corrupt and dirtiest in the world.”
“They believe we should lower out expectations, settle for doing less work, accept cosmetic changes, and agree to continue governance as ‘business as usual.” This is why he indicated: “I, Alexander B. Cummings, am running for president to stop ‘business as usual.”
He described Liberia as a bleeding place.
“Our country needs help, including in international support and investments. But we also need more than a cosmetic change in personnel to get the international trust and support we desperately need. We need bold changes in vision, policy and leadership. We need the international community to trust us not to steal, disobey our own laws, and manage what we have more accountably and transparently. We need to raise the expectation levels for ourselves, set higher national goals, and work even harder to achieve them.”
Commenting on the future of Liberia, the ANC political leader and standard bearer expressed optimism that the future of Liberia is not buried in its past. He noted, traveling the same road will never lead Liberians and their country to a new destination; and putting love of party over the country will continue to see the country and its people suffer. “To lift our country up, and end the sufferings of our people, we must change. Change is hard, but continuing as we are doing to ourselves, or going backward, will only make our problems worse.”
He indicated that things can be better for all Liberians in the country, where young people should be able to find jobs upon graduation after their parents sacrificed themselves, some selling like his mother did, to send their children to school.
Wants no Old People Begging:
He said, his quest is for a Liberia where those who are old and retired should not have to become beggars and feel abandoned by the county they served for many years. “They can, and should be cared for, as respected senior citizens, after years of service to our country. Our leaders should really be doing better for our country and our people, and because I see that we are not, this is why have decided to get involved.”
“We must change – not for ourselves but for Liberian mothers, and fathers who continue to do the best they can, sometimes overworked and overburdened by the things they must do, just to make ends meet; just to get a better life for their children. To all Liberian mothers, rural and urban, married or single, in you I see my mother. I know and understand what you have to do to carry your families through, every day. I am running to help ease the heavy burdens unfairly placed on your shoulders.”
