— As PYJ Cuts the Shots to Circumvent War Crimes Prosecution?
IPNEWS: As heavily rumored weeks leading to the pick of his Vice Standard Bearer, former Vice President Joseph N. Boakai, has finally selected Nimba County Senator Jeremiah K. Koung as his running mate for the ensuing Presidential and Legislative Elections slated for October 10, 2023.
According to Senator Prince Johnson, Senator Jeremiah Koung is the foster brother of President George Manneh Weah, a claim that has not been denied either by the President himself or Senator Koung.
Announcing his pick on Friday, April 28, in Monrovia, the former Vice President stated that he and Sen Koung share the same humble beginning and determination for greatness.
He said the pick of the Nimba County Senator is intended to unite the younger generation, which continued to be marginalized by a government that cares about itself and not the emerging generation.
Boakai lauded the support of all who stood by him during the difficult moments of the opposition unity and called on all to work collectively to ensure the Weah regime becomes a one-term history.
He gave special recognition to the Political leaders of the All Liberian and Liberty Parties, Benoni Urey and Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence including talk show host Henry Pedro Costa for the trust and confidence reposed in him to lead a united opposition in the fight to reclaim Liberia from misruled and bad governance of the George Weah government.
JNB thanked Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillion for being the ‘lone voice’ of the opposition at the Legislature in flying the opposition flag.
However, as anticipated, there was a conspicuous absence of Mr. Urey, Senator Lawrence, Costa and Sen. Dillon. However, other political parties’ leaders, including Professor Alaric Tokpah of the New Deal Movement, graced the occasion.
Some have said that Senator Koung’s selection as running mate has now sparked new debates over attempts by Senator Johnson to find a “safe haven” from indictment by the United States of America for undermining good governance through systematic ‘pay-to-play’ scamming. However, he is currently sanctioned by the US Government.
In December 2021, the United States Department of Treasury sanctioned Nimba County Senator Prince Y. Johnson for what they term his involvement in corruption activities in Liberia.
The US Treasury Department wrote: “Prince Yormie Johnson is a former warlord and current member of the Liberian Senate. He is the former Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security, Defense, Intelligence, and Veteran Affairs. In 1990, he was responsible for the murder of former Liberian President Samuel Doe, and Johnson is named in Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Report as having committed atrocities during the country’s first civil war.”
A new investigation by IPNEWS revealed on the heels of Joseph Boakai’s presumptive pick of Jeremiah Koung, that the Boakai-Koung ticket is not a ticket for the so-called insensitivity to the livelihood of Nimbaians but to secure another six years of protection with an eventual extension if there was a win in the October 2023 polls that would propel PYJ safety for 2029, with the sole intention to circumvent a potential War Crimes Prosecution.
As predicted by many ahead of Friday’s Koung picked, in a late Thursday press statement, Grand Bassa County Senator Nyonblde Karnga-Lawrence called for cool-heads after Joseph Boakai declared that the Liberty Party was not considered as his vice running mate.
Senator Karnga-Lawrence’s tone from her statement shows how disappointed she is after two years of political struggle to seal a Boakai-Nyonblee ticket just evaporated to a little know Jeremiah Koung who had been on honeymoon with the George Weah inner cycle just days leading to Friday, April 28, official vice standard bearer pick.
Another contender for the VP pick to JNB is Henry P. Costa, a fearless young man who stood his ground for JNB during the darkest hours of the road leading to this point.
In a podcast, Costa explains his frustrations and desire to discontinue laying down all in the interests of an uncoordinated opposition.
Observers view Costa’s comments as another show of displeasure to see a Koung pick over the rest of them that ‘ cook the food, yet cannot eat it’.
It was not until November 20thatwhen he made an outburst against President George Manneh Weah’s posture towards him, especially the failure to settle five years of social development funds provided by major concession ArcelorMittal Liberia to the government of Liberia for distribution to three counties including Nimba county.
This same PYJ as affectionately call, before the fallout with Weah had supported the government of Weah at all levels.
The Nimba County Senator Prince Y. Johnson told Liberians and the world that his Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) was ending its alliance with George Weah’s Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) because Weah has not given top positions to qualified citizens of Nimba County who voted him to power, but rather junior minister positions among others.
