Barely 48 hours after a FrontPageAfrica revelation pointed to strains between President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Cllr. Varney Sherman, head of the ruling Unity Party, the Liberian government's chief spokesman, Information Lewis Brown threw the first public hint of the resurrection of a lengthy feud between the pair.

Cllr. Sherman's criticisms of the Sirleaf-led government by her own party chair in the full glare of the public during his oration delivered in Tubmanburg Bomi County, continues to send shockwaves down the spines of many in and out of the government.

Many are not unaware of the issues Sherman raised but some in the corridors of power and beyond are shocked that the chairman of a ruling party used his oration to speak truth to power.

Minister Brown on Wednesday took Cllr. Sherman head on terming the ruling party chief's decision to use the 166th Independence Day celebration as a platform to vent out his personal frustration at President Sirleaf, even though Sherman forms part and parcel of the system as highly disingenuous.

A lot of courage

Said Minister Brown: "Admittedly, it does take a lot of courage for the chairman of the Ruling Party to publicly chastise the person who bears the Standard of the Party, and to strangely separate himself and the Party not only from the achievements of the government, for which the Ruling Party ought to be proud, but also to openly offer himself as better suited with fresher and bolder ideas to transform the country because "... all of these achievements and accomplishments, including the many others that I have mentioned, are not enough as a foundation to transform our country."

Brown went on to ask: "Did the public criticism of the Standard Bearer of the Unity Party by the Chairman of the Unity Party improve the chances of the Unity Party at any upcoming elections? Like lawyers would say, did Counselor Sherman's briefs include improving the public perception of the Party and offering a reasonable case that the Unity Party is still worthy of the public's trust? "

At the weekly news Briefing held at MICAT's edifice on Capitol Hill, Minister Brown termed Sherman's action as undermining the intent of the Independence Day Celebrations.

Said Brown: "Every citizen has the right and will continue to have the right to criticize the government; to bring forth their recommendations as to how we can do what we are doing better. The leadership of our country has the collective responsibility to keep the focus of our people on the building of a better future for themselves and their children."

A Stab in UP's back

Brown continued: "The desire of the people is to get positive information about the development of their country. We cannot honestly-take for example what just happened; when I said we dedicated over 40 projects across the three counties, many of you were surprised. But since 26 Day, that has not been the issue. Nobody wants to remember that; nobody remembers the Buchanan Highway; we have not have a real serious conversation about that."

Minister Brown maintained that the UP Chairman's action was a stab in the back of his own political party adding that Sherman's action might have damning consequences for the party's political future after President Sirleaf.

"However, one would be hard-pressed not to conclude that the Chairman of the Unity Party confirmed a widening gap between him and his Standard Bearer - so wide a gap that he has readied himself to swim alone," said Brown.

Continued Brown: "Perhaps not as it is difficult to imagine how the Unity Party benefits from distancing itself from the achievements of the government. These are achievements, in a post-conflict society, which any ruling party ought to embrace."

Long standing disagreements

Political observers say Sherman used the oration platform to vent out long-held disagreements with the way he has been treated by the executive since the elections of 2011 during which time the political spoils seemed not to have been distributed evenly.

The ruling party leader is a member of the Liberia Action Party which formed a coalition with the UP in the run-up to the 2011 election.

Still enjoying the backing and support of majority of the party members, Sherman has been able to successfully disagree with policies of the government birthed from his own belly leaving Brown with no other option but to suggest that the UP might be heading to the gallows at its own expense.

"Oftentimes, swimming alone requires adapting populist themes. Today, none is more accommodating than corruption. And so Chairman Sherman quipped "... all the time and everywhere we hear the Liberian people's cry against corruption," he said.

The stinging attack on Cllr. Sherman by Minister Brown who felt attacked by the lawyer's suggestion that the government's communication arm be adequately supported to adequately disseminate information on the government's activities properly, comes barely a week after the actual event but Minister Brown as it seems is in for the wrath of the ruling UP.

As news of the minister's statement on Cllr. Sherman's oration spread, the UP seemed not ready to respond as party stalwart Wilmot Paye told FrontPageAfrica during a mobile phone conversation: "We will react at the appropriate time"

For the immediate future, the criticisms of Sherman by Brown, an Independent and a once fiery opposition to Sirleaf, is likely to fuel even more angst between not only Sirleaf and Sherman, but could further drive a wedge between Sirleaf and the ruling party, which political observers say, could hurt the party's 2017 chances and possibly lead to the demise a ruling party on the brinks of permanent disunity.