—- Says Alexander Cummings Never Promised Koung VP Post
IPNEWS: Barely 24hrs after Nimba County, Jeremiah Koung declared that he was highly sought after by the Collaborating Political Parties of Alexander B. Cummings as vice running mate, the campaign chair of the CPP, Ambassador Lewis Brown has termed the boastful posture of Jeremiah Koung as laughable and that he was just another ‘pawn of distraction’ within the Unity Party as part of the CPP plan.
In a swift reaction to Senator Koung statement on social media Monday’s edition of the Spoon Talk, Ambassador Brown told IPNEWS that Jeremiah Koung was only part of the strategy to distract the UP.
Brown said the digest by Jeremiah Koung to reveal conversations held with the CPP has made it crystal clear all the narratives out there that he used by the CPP to get Joseph N. Boakai, to go after him since the UP thought they and the CPP are into a contest.
“No one will have negotiations for over 5 months on a Vice standard bearer pick. We never ever wanted Jeremiah Koung. We played the UP knowing they were desperate to compete with us for running mate. We knew Joseph N. Boakai would go after anyone he confirmed was in conversation with us, which is why we kept our names tight.”
“So, yes, we met Koung as part of our strategy. And no, Cummings never promised him VP. While people around Cummings may have offered him the vice standard bearer post, Cummings only asked him to work together because we needed to give him something to negotiate with UP on. He even recommended folks from his camp we should talk to; some we did. Some we did not. We knew Koung was our bait to distract the UP- they wanted a VSB with money. And every time it appeared the UP wanted to look other places, we met with JK and they finally caught the bait.”
“They imagined us to be in a race with them for him when we actually wanted them to have him! Nothing in politics happens organically. Koung knows he was played and UP knows they were played and now he’s saving face.” CPP campaign chair, Lewis Brown told IPNEWS.
In his narrative on Spoon talk, the Nimba County, Jeremiah Koung stated that in early November 2022, he was approached by key inner cycles of CPP Political leader Alexander Cummings for a running mate.
Koung stated that former National Investment Chair, George Wisner, at a lunchtime meeting held at the Paris restaurant where he was told that Mr. Alexander B. Cummings has opted to carry him as his vice running mate.
He narrated to the Spoon Talk audience that advised Mr. Wisner, and the CPP to give him some time to consult and get back.
“Within minutes after Mr. George Wisner and I concluded our discussion, I received a call from Musa Bility telling the same thing that Mr. Cummings has asked for my agreement to become his vice running mate. Again as I told Wisner, I also told Musa Bility that I was going to consult my constituents and get back.
“I did not get back until January 2023, Mr. Alexander Cummings himself called me and said he has decided to carry me as his vice running mate because of my private and public sector experience I also told Mr. Cummings that I was in Gampa City for the weekend and would get back to him upon return to Monrovia. As these discussions were ongoing to which I will narrate all the details, “
“I was again engaged by Martin Kolleh, in April of 2023, a week to the Boakai’s vice standard bearer nomination on why I was pushing back on being the vice running mate to Mr. Cummings. At that moment I told him that we were at a critical juncture of the UP pick for vice as they were only two potential candidates to become JNB pick for the vice standard bearer and could not risk anything further by opting for the vice standard bearer position of the CPP. “Jeremiah Koung narrated on Spoon Talk.
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.
As a Senator, Johnson has been involved in pay-for-play funding with government ministries and organizations for personal enrichment. As part of the scheme, upon receiving funding from the Government of Liberia (GOL), the involved government ministries and organizations launder a portion of the funding for return to the involved participants. The pay-for-play funding scheme involves millions of U.S. dollars. Johnson has also offered the sale of votes in multiple Liberian elections in exchange for money.
Johnson is designated pursuant to E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is a current or former government official, or a person acting for or on behalf of such an official, who is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery.”
