Monrovia — In one of her few town hall meetings in Lofa County, Vice President Jewel Howard told a group of Lofians not to vote for Vice President Joseph Boakai because his vice president is from Nimba County, and he will be a vice president for Nimba people.
What the Vice President didn't tell the gathering is that the arrowhead of the ticket, who is the Bikakai, is from Lofa County. In an attempt to criticize the former Vice President, who hails from Lofa County, she claimed that during his 12 years as Vice President under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, he didn't do enough to improve the lives of the people of Lofa County.
However, the current Vice President also failed to show tangible development in Bong County, where she hails from and has been a Senator for over 12 years.
VP Jewel Howard Taylor said, "Former VP is my uncle because I am also from Lofa County, but he is about to choose someone from Nimba County as his deputy. We will not be able to see him. We will have to beg the Nimba people before we see the Vice President."
The Liberian Vice President also told the members of the gathering that if re-elected, President Weah will focus his development efforts only on the county that gives them the highest number of votes after the 2023 presidential and general elections.
Provisional results released by the National Elections Commission show that, in order of the highest number of registered voters, Montserrado County is first, Nimba is second, Lofa County is third, with Bong and Grand Bassa Counties coming fourth and fifth.
In an update provided by the NEC on the recently concluded Phase two of the BVR process in nine counties, a total of 1,033,724 people registered in the aforementioned counties, including Bong County (237,463), Grand Gedeh County (64,061), Grand Kru County (42,729), Lofa County (177,729), Maryland County (69,034), Nimba County (308,421), River Gee County (37,912), River Cess County (40,201), and Sinoe County (56,011).
By parity of reasoning, the Vice President's statement means that even if Lofa County gives the CDC all its 177,729 votes and Nimba gives 200k out of its 308,421 votes, Lofa County will not be prioritized in the President's developmental focus because they didn't give the CDC the highest vote count.
The VP's comments come days after she was accused by Senator Prince Johnson of Nimba County of sending thugs to disrupt Sunday church services after she suspected that Senator Johnson was preparing to respond to comments she had earlier made against him and several other senators in the joint chambers of the legislature.
Boakai picks Koung
Liberia's former Vice President and Standard Bearer of the opposition Unity Party, Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai, has named Nimba County Senator and Political Leader of the Movement for Reconstruction and Democracy, Jeremiah Koung, as his running mate in the October 10 polls.
Amb. Boakai made the disclosure at a colorful and well-attended event held at the Unity Party headquarters in central Monrovia on Friday, April 28, 2023. His search for a running mate was to find someone who knows and has experienced how it feels to live in a nation with no hope.
According to him, in his search, he interacted with a lot of qualified and committed Liberians and foreign partners, sought guidance and advice on how he can address the hemorrhaging leadership deficit in the country,
Amb. Boakai made the disclosure at a colorful and well-attended event held at the Unity Party headquarters in central Monrovia on Friday, April 28, 2023. His search for a running mate aimed to find someone who, most importantly, knows and has experienced how it feels to live in a nation with no hope.
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According to him, during his search, he interacted with numerous qualified and committed Liberians, as well as foreign partners. He sought guidance and advice on how to address the leadership deficit in the country, acknowledging and appreciating everyone for their service, support, and commitment to Liberia.
"In my search for a running mate, I aimed to find someone who would join me as a partner and help build a dedicated team of leaders to rescue our country. I sought someone young and energetic, committed to integrity and accountability in governance. I wanted a person who would work towards reconciling and healing our country and who, through their early upbringing, understands and connects with the youthful generation in a nation still traumatized by war and denial, yet serves as an example of success," Amb. Boakai said.
