IPNEWS: The Pro Tempore of the Liberian Senate has launched an attack against former Representative Vicent S.T Willie over the quality of his six-year leadership of Wee Statutory District in Grand Bassa County.
Senator Nyonble Kangar Lawrence, speaking at a voter appreciation rally on the Civil Compound in Wayzohn City on Saturday, July 13, 2024, criticized Willie’s leadership, claiming the district under him turned into a battleground marked by hostility and disrespect.
Said Pro Tempore Nyonblee Kangar Lawrence: “You know when Hon. Byron Browne was Representative for this district, I did not have to come here because we had a representative to work with. After Byron Browne, this district became a battle district, hostility, disrespect. I was a victim, especially as I am a daughter of this district.”
“I want to thank Hon. Alfred Flomo for bringing dignity back to this district,” Senator Lawrence said.
However, Senator Lawrence did not provide specific examples of how the district was a battleground or how she was a “victim” of such alleged “hostility and disrespect” during Willie’s tenure as Representative.
Between 2018 and 2024, when Willie was representative, and in the entire 2023 election period, we found no evidence or reports of hostile confrontations between Representative Willie’s camp and Senator Lawrence, who then chaired the Senate Committee on Rules, Order, and Administration and subsequently served as Chairman for the UP Alliance.
She also failed to state how she became a “victim” of the alleged “battleground,” hostile, and disrespectful activities when Willie was representative.
Both Senators Lawrence and Gbehzongar Findley vehemently campaigned against Willie, who was then an independent candidate supporting former President George Weah.
Flomo won against Willie by less than 300 votes.
When contacted, former Rep. Vicent Willie said he respects Senator Lawrence’s role as leader of the Liberian Senate and has no intention of engaging in any form of exchange with her.
He emphasized that as leader of the senate, Pro Tempore Lawrence should focus on addressing looming administrative inadequacies under her watch and the shameful, embarrassing accusations of mismanagement of public funds, issues that have nationally diminished her standing in politics in a very short time.
“She’s hurt because we took our side by supporting Weah and we defeated her Rescue Team twice in Bassa. Also my actions of sending young people outside for studies has pushed she and others to do same, something she never did in her first 9 years of leadership”.
“We are aware that she is deeply afraid that we might be an embarrassment to her Presidential or Vice Presidential quest comes 2029 that’s why she has initiated an early fight,” Willie added.
According to the former lawmaker, “The Pro-Tempore is entitled to her opinion, but she is not entitled to ‘distorting the facts,’ and that ‘the work I did in Wee District in six years will speak for itself. I am in my private life now and have no intention of getting into any confusion with anyone at this point.’”
“Under my leadership, we built the first-ever bridge to connect Compound #3 and the LAC Plantation, built bridges across the district, and connected farm-to-market roads far more than any other lawmaker has ever done.”
“We lobbied with ArcelorMittal to build the Kpu Town public school, ensured the hospital received budgetary allocation for the first time ever, built markets, teacher quarters, and elevated the Gardour Town Public to a senior high.”
“I sent people for training and negotiated scholarships for students from our district to go to China, Morocco, Ghana, and other places. Some of them have even returned with masters. This is what matters to me more than anything else,” he said, adding, “I am not bothered by unsubstantiated claims that cannot be backed by publicly available evidence.”
Meanwhile, former Rep. Willie has challenged Pro Tempore Lawrence to produce evidence and speak with facts in public discourses.
He said given the outcome of the 2023 elections, it is important for leaders to strive for unity among all Liberians, speak with less emotion, and back their comments with facts, “especially for someone like Madam Pro Tempore who heads the House of Elders.”
