Monrovia — FrontPageAfrica has reliably learned that Senator Prince Y. Johnson (Nimba County, MDR) has agreed and is prepared to turn over his authority as the head of his own Movement for Democratic Reconstruction (MDR) to Senator Jeremiah Koung whom many describe as Sen. Johnson's godson.
This news comes days ahead of the MDR's convention scheduled for Thursday, December 22, 2022 in Ganta, Nimba County.
FrontPageAfrica gathered that there have been ongoing discussions between Senator Koung and the Alternative National Congress (ANC) headed by Alexander Cummings, to have him (Koung) on the CPP ticket as vice standard bearer. FrontPageAfrica has, however, not been able to independently verify this information.
According to sources, Koung is being considered by the ANC because of the significance of Nimba County in presidential elections. The ANC wants to use Koung as the tiebreaker that could attract the Nimba County votes.
It can be recalled that Cummings in September donated US$50,000 to the PYJ Polytechnic University in Nimba.
Senator Johnson said the financial contributions by Cummings were made timely in separate installments. The Nimba County Senator recognized the Collaborating Political Party Standard Bearer's contribution by describing him as a good humanitarian.
Major CDC Partner Slipping Away?
The MDR has been a major partner to the CDC-led government since the 2017 elections where Sen. Johnson's support to Pres. Weah in the runoff election landed him the presidency.
Nimba County, according to the 2008 National Housing and Population Census, had a population of about 462,026. From the National Elections Commission (NEC) 2017 statistics, Nimba had a voting population of 279,601, of this number, 200,791 votes were cast in the county.
Despite the presence of 20 Presidential candidates in that 2017 presidential race, the Unity Party was led by Vice President Joseph Boakai and Senator Weah, who headed the CDC, were inarguably the heavyweights in that election, but still Senator Johnson was overwhelmingly voted for by kinsmen and women in Nimba.
He attained 107,430 votes of the 200,791 votes that were cast. That constituted 53.5% of the overall votes in the county. The margin between Senator Johnson and Vice President Boakai, who came out second in Nimba was a 67,466 difference. VP Boakai obtained 39,964 votes.
Senator Johnson's support to Pres. Weah in the second round of the election saw Pres. Weah attain an overwhelming victory in the election.
However, in recent time, both Senators Johnson and Koung have expressed their dissatisfaction over the Weah-led administration. According to the pair, the government has failed to fulfill its part of the bargain that lured the MDR's support.
Speaking a local radio station in Ganta, Sen. Koung said both him and Senator Johnson were unsure of their support for Pres. Weah in 2023.
Sen. Koung: "I am not happy with the CDC Government," Sen. Koung said.
PYJ Sanctioned for Corruption
In December 2021, Sen. Johnson was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for corruption under the Global Magnitsky Act, which authorizes the U.S. government to sanction those it sees as human rights offenders, freeze their assets, and ban them from entering the U.S.
Johnson was responsible for the slaying in 1990 of President Samuel Doe, who had been captured by his forces at the Freeport of Monrovia in 1990. Johnson sipped beer as he watched his men torture and mutilate Doe who begged in vain for mercy in a widely circulated video.
Now a trusted political ally of President George Weah, Johnson is accused in a U.S. embassy statement of large-scale corruption.
"As a senator, Johnson has been involved in pay-for-play funding with government ministries and organizations for personal enrichment," a statement issued by the U.S. embassy said. "As part of the scheme, upon receiving funding from the government of Liberia, the involved government ministries and organizations launder a portion of the funding for return to the involved participants."
The scheme involves millions of dollars, according to the embassy statement.
Johnson also receives an undeserved salary from the Liberian government as a salaried intelligence source yet he does not provide any form of intelligence reporting, alleged the U.S. statement. He is being paid in order to maintain domestic stability, according to the statement.
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The U.S. government has sanctioned Liberia's ex-warlord and current senator Prince Yormie Johnson for alleged corruption.
The sanctions against Johnson come under the Global Magnitsky Act, which authorizes the U.S. government to sanction those it sees as human rights offenders, freeze their assets, and ban them from entering the U.S.
Johnson was responsible for the slaying in 1990 of President Samuel Doe, who had been captured by his forces during the country's 14-year civil war. Johnson sipped beer as he watched his men torture and mutilate Doe who begged in vain for mercy in a widely circulated video.
Now a trusted political ally of former international soccer star President George Weah, Johnson is accused in a U.S. embassy statement of large-scale corruption.
"As a senator, Johnson has been involved in pay-for-play funding with government ministries and organizations for personal enrichment," a statement issued by the U.S. embassy said. "As part of the scheme, upon receiving funding from the government of Liberia, the involved government ministries and organizations launder a portion of the funding for return to the involved participants."
