–Operations Manager Nora Wreh Becomes Law unto Herself

–Accused of Violating Workers’ Rights at Will, Humiliates Staffers

IPNEWS-Monrovia: When Montserrado County District #7 Representative Solomon Claudius George sometime last year called on President George Weah to dismiss the then Deputy Registrar General for Administration at the Liberia Business Registry, Nora Wreh, for what he termed at the time “her unruly behavior and arrogance towards clients and employees alike”, many thought the lawmaker was trying to be personal.

Representative George while on a local radio show told President Weah that if he did not dismiss Nora Wreh from the LBR, her actions as well as her reported humiliation of staffs, employers, workers, visitors and clients, would definitely befall the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) come an election year. The Montserrado lawmaker said at the time that as a resident of Electoral #7, where the LBR is located, people would walk to him at his house to complain the behavior of the former LBD Deputy Registrar General, and it was based on those complaints he had asked President Weah to remove her from the LBD so that alleged action won’t hurt the CDC during elections time.

Flashback: Rep. Solomon George at a program in West Point with Pres. Weah seated in white looks on. Rep. George publicly asked Pres. Weah in 2021 to relieve Ms. Nora Wreh from from the LBR due to complaints against her from staff members and clients

At the LBR, according to Representative George when he appeared on that local radio talk show that morning HOT FM, disclosed that Ms. Wreh disregards anybody that she comes into contact with on the job, be a client or a staff, because she was said to be a close friend to one of the powerful men in the George Weah’ administration.

Employees and staff at the Liberia Business Registry (LBR) were uncomfortable working with her, according to investigation conducted by IPNEWS, coupled with the revelation made by Representative Solomon George on HOT FM a long time ago about her unruly behavior as well as arrogant attitude.

An IPNEWS investigation even unearthed that Ms. Wreh was never far from controversies at the Liberia Business Registry (LBR), as one time in September 2019 she was accused of allegedly removing the license plate of her assigned vehicle and place it on her private vehicle.

Flashback: A social media post accusing the former LBD Deputy Registrar General of using her assigned government vehicle plate on her private vehicle. But the claim was refuted that over that controversy

But in her defense one of her supporters, Abdul D. Kanneh wrote on social media on September 26, 2019 saying:

“~Demystifying the myths~ 

Warning!!! 

Stop the proxy attacks on Madam Nora Wreh, who is serving very well at the Liberia Business Registry as Deputy Registrar General. 

Here is the real story, Madam Nora Wreh’s assigned vehicle been down for the past two months due to mechanical problem and she immediately informed the General Service Agency; therefore, she was advised to take the car to the GSA’S compound and she did without delay. As we speak the vehicle is currently parked at the GSA. 

As it relates to your weak and lazy argument about the license plate, Madam Nora Wreh as young with hunger to serve her Country after two months of difficulties in getting to work in time, bought a jeep to help her get to work in time. Let it be made cleared that she got the authorization by the authority of the GSA to put the plate on her vehicle until her assigned vehicle is ready; since indeed she is using her own vehicle for government functionaries. 

With that said, I can clearly say that those proxy fighters are doing this as a result of CHRONIC generation envy and hate.”

So it came as no surprise to the employees and staff of the Liberia Business Registry when President George Weah appointed Madam Rose Chelly as Deputy Registrar General for Administration at the LBR on March 14, 2022, thus sending Nora Wreh to the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) as Operations Manager.

The President’s decision to remove Ms. Wreh as the second-in-command at the LBR as a Deputy Registrar General for Administration and sent her to LPRC as Operations Manager, was a demotion apparently as a punishment for her reported ‘unfriendly and arrogant attitude’ towards employees and staff of the LBR as well as clients, whose money are collected when they go register their respective businesses to put revenue in government’s coffers.

But according to political pundits, some people are just too hard to change from their bad ways, as there are reports of unpleasant happening towards staff and employees of Ms. Wreh’s new area of assignment since after leaving the LBR.

Monkey Never Leaves It Black Hands Behind

Fast forward to December 2022, reports of Madam Nora Wreh’s uncouth attitude towards staff and employees have resurfaced at the LPRC.

The latest being her public humiliation of one Adolphus T. Seboe, Laboratory Assistant at the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC).

In his complaint date December 7, 2022 and filed to LPRC Workers Union, Laboratory Assistant Adolphus T. Seboe detailed how he was publicly humiliated by Ms. Nora Wreh only because out of gentleman behavior he was advised to cover a part of her trouser that was torn up that she may not have known about.

According to Lab Assistant Seboe, on December 6, 2022 between 11am and 12 noon in front of City Builders at the Freeport of Monrovia he got down from car on his way to the LPRC Compound. He states, while walking along the road, he met Madam Nora Wreh and three other employees in persons of Mr. George Kiawu, Compliance Coordinator; Sadia Chokpele, Terminal Superintendent and an individual to be identified moving in the same direction. Lab Assistant Seboe said he greeted them and later observed that Madam Wreh’s blouse was above the part of her trouser that was torn up, and seeing it to be embarrassing, he walked to her politely in her ear and told her to bring her blouse down so as to cover the part of her trouser that was torn up.

According to Lab Assistant Seboe’s complaint letter, to his surprise, she got angry shouting at him in the street and demanded him to kneel down to her in the street and that if he did not kneel down to apologize, he would lose his December salary and job, for ‘disrespecting’ her as a manager.

Photo Courtesy: Charles B. Yates – one Liberia’s top-notch investigative journalists

Seboe’s complaint further states, few hours later, when he went to his office, she (Nora Wreh) sent for him to her office and demanded him to kneel down to apologize again. Mr. Seboe’s complaint however did not state whether he complied with Ms. Wreh’s instruction to kneel before her in the street in front of the City Builders at the Freeport of Monrovia and subsequently in her office at LPRC Compound.

However, Mr. Seboe told the LPRC Workers’ Union that the LPRC Operations Manager, Nora Wreh’s action against him humiliated and traumatized him after the public disgrace, and has therefore decided to file an official complaint against her and look into the matter for redress as a union. He concluded, up to present, he has been molested by his fellow workers or employees for him to be made to kneel in the street and in the office of Ms. Wreh, for no reasons at all.

LPRC Managing Director Marie Urey Coleman – the Workers Union has forward Laboratory Assistant Adolphus T. Seboe’s complaint to her for redress

Meanwhile, IPNEWS has learned that the Workers’ Union at the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) has officially communicated the Managing Director of LPRC, Madam Marie Urey Coleman, to seek Management’s intervention by addressing the complaint by Laboratory Assistant Adolphus T. Seboe against Ms. Nora Wreh, the controversial Operations Manager.

Public Reaction

Following the revelation of the LPRC Operations Manager, Nora Wreh’s alleged act against Laboratory Assistant Adolphus T. Seboe as was aired on several local radio stations, as well as posted on various social media platforms, there were mixed reaction in the public regarding the unpleasant situation.

Several callers on OK FM 99.5 called on the Board of Directors and the LPRC Management to dismiss Ms. Nora Wreh for her reported human rights violation of employees and staff of the LPRC as though she is above the company guidelines as well as laws of Liberia.

On social media, a former senior manager of the LPRC during the Charles Taylor presidency, Mr. Cornelius Hunter, posted in the comment section on the Facebook page of one of Liberia’s top-notch investigative journalist Charles Yates, saying: “Charles B. Yates, it will appear to me that LPRC is into crisis, if not a mess. The positions of Operations manager, Compliance and Terminal Superintendent are no small roles or for just ANYONE. No wonder, so much is ongoing in terms of theft, but doing the right thing sadly. If proper care or actions are not taken, it’s only a matter of time, the Country could experience something least expected (wrong connectivity) of pipes or hoses, resulting in wrong discharge of different products into wrong areas. That Terminal, is highly technical; and not administrative in the real sense; and if the workers feel threatened or otherwise treated, there could be a situation that could raise cause for concern, However, as it stands, am sorry we will be in free fall, as Top management needs to take charge and bring reasoning and sanity in the work environment quickly, other than power play and shared ignorance and arrogance.”

Headquarters of Liberia Petroleum Refining Company at the Petrol Storage Tank (PST) compound on Bushrod Island. A former manager says the area is a dedicated place where no worker is to be maltreated to avoid sabotage

As for Samuel Siafa Boima, he writes: “Wonders shall never end. 😂😂.. You allowed someone to disgrace and humiliate you in the name of “boss” and you accepted? SMH…🤦🤦… Okay ooo..😂😂.. Next time, remove your trousers when she ask that of you. Fecee Adam gender. 😂😂”

As for some staff and employees who spoke to IPNEWS concerning the alleged behavior and attitude of their Operations Manager, Nora Wreh, but prefer anonymity for fear of reprisal at the job site said, “Our Operations Manager is an arrogant and creeping monster who has emerged at LPRC after doing similar thing at the Liberia Business Registry. The woman has no regard for her fellow human being and fellow workers as she treats us with disdain, disrespect, arrogance, humiliation as though we are not humans. She has told us repeatedly that nobody can do anything as long as she is close to a higher-up she has never named to us, but she usually boasts about that,”

Others told IPNEWS that Ms. Nora Wreh is using her position in the CDC to intimidate workers at LPRC, a situation even the Managing Director Marie Urey Coleman has failed to put stop to. “We don’t know if the Managing Director is afraid of the Operations Manager who is way far below her as far the managerial structure is concerned at LPRC.”

Meanwhile, political pundits and human rights activists say the reports of human rights violation as being alleged by workers and staffers of the LPRC against the Company’s Operations Manager, Nora Wreh calls for concern and urgent action to put a halt to such ugly happening at the LPRC.

According to some of the pundits, public service is not for anybody to publicly humiliate, disgrace or violate the rights of their employees or colleagues out of arrogance and sense of being a die-hard member of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), but rather to serve with humility, respect, diligence for the common good of the company and the country at large.

IPNEWS will continue to follow the human rights violation episode at LPRC as Management is expected to launch an investigation into allegation officially levied against its Operations Manager, Nora Wreh, by also its Laboratory Assistant, Adolphus T. Seboe, and reports the outcome accordingly.