Ganta — Senator Prince Johnson told citizens of Nimba County on Saturday that the county will produce Liberia's next president through Senator Jeremiah Kuong, vice standard bearer to former Vice President Joseph Boikai, standard bearer of the Unity Party (UP).
"This is the pathway to the presidency," the former war-lord-turned-politician, said, alluding to Kuong's selection as Boakai's running mate.
Sen. Johnson's statement also comes amid concerns over 78-year-old Boakai's health with many believing that he is too frail to withstand the rigor of the presidency.
It has triggered sharp reactions in some circles. Several people interviewed during the Boikai-Kuong political rally said it's too early to predict Kuong's presidential ambition, especially when people are worried about Kuong's close relationship with Senator Johnson.
Prince Dahn, a resident of Gompa City and a member of the UP, said Johnson's statement could spark a "silent war" among UP partisans who may be aspiring to the presidency. Johnson's statement, Dahn said, could hurt the party's chances.
"It's too early to talk about someone becoming president when 2029 is still far," Dahn said. "Our focus should be on strategizing in making Unity Party win in October, not make statement that will drive away those who are secretly aspiring to be president in 2029."
Abel Dennis, also of Gompa City, said he is worried that the Boakai-Kuong ticket will ignore Liberians' demand for the War and Economic Crimes Court because of Johnson's quest for a Nimba president.
"If any Liberian thinks that a Boakai presidency would front for the war and economic crimes court, then you are mistaken because Boakai will not have the balls to push this when his future vice president is associated with a war-lord," Dennis said.
Delee Samuel, of Saclepia, said Senator Johnson's statement has heightened his skepticism about the Boakai-Koung ticket.
"I am from Nimba, but if taking Koung as a running mate will mean making him a future president, then I don't want to part of the team to make Boakai president," Samuel said.
Crowd for hire?
Victoria Dahn, 46, boarded a 32-seater bus from the Parker Paint community in Monrovia on Friday for the David Kuyoun Sports Stadium in Gbarnga for the political rally celebrating Unity Boakai and Koung, of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR).
Dahn was one of fifty-one people who were paid $20 each to participate in the Boakai-Kuong rally held in Margibi, Bong and Nimba on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
"I live in Paynesville," she said. My friends and I were given $20 each to cover the endorsement programs in Margibi, Bong and Nimba. In addition to the money, they also fed us."
Dahn said the Parker Paint community chair selected she and others to participate in the three-day political rally. The rally organizers also gave $10 a day for lodging in each of the three counties.
Emmanuel Sackie, of Duport Road, said he was one of twenty people who boarded a bus from the Congo Town for the political rally. Sackie said he agreed to be bussed because he wanted to use the money to pay his son's balance tuition.
The organizers gave participants Unity Party t-shirt, but Sackie held his t-shirt in his hand at the rally because he said he is not a supporter of Unity Party. He said they were promised $20, but they received $10 and were told that they would receive the balance $10 at the end of the three-day tour.
"I honestly came because of the money," Sackie said. " I need to pay my son's balance tuition because that is the only way I will get his report card from the school."
Patrick Dormeyan was trucked from Police Academy in Monrovia. He said he attended the rallies in Bong and Nimba because he wanted to meet some political leaders.
"I have never met Ambassador Joseph Boakai, so I thought to myself I would have the opportunity to meet him at the rallies," said Dormeyan, who said the rally did not persuade him to vote for Unity Party.
On Friday, the Unity Party struggled to fill the stadium. The time of the rally was postponed two times -from 12:00 pm to 2: 30 pm. The rally did not start until 4:30 when buses started to pull in from Monrovia.
Bong County's Senator Prince Moye denied that people were trucked from Monrovia for the political rallies in Bong and Nimba. "The crowd that converged at the David Kuyoun Stadium was real. People are not like cement bags where you will put them over each other. The buses you saw were people who were transported from far and near villages in Bong County, including Bong Mines in Fuamah District, Kokoyah, Panta District and other far to reach areas," he said.
Senator Moye said the scramble to win Bong County is not about him or Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor, a native of the county, but about the hardship Liberians have faced over the years.
"Our vice president has achieved a lot for herself over the years like I have done. Elected as senator twice before being elected as vice president, and I have also been elected twice as representative before my election as senator. This election is about the lives of the ordinary people, what have they achieved under the CDC-led government of which our vice president is a part of."
FrontPage Africa interviewed people seen disembarking from buses as they arrived at the stadium. Some of the same buses were seen in Ganta on Saturday with similar license plates.
Sara Peabody, 36, lives in Soul Clinic community in Paynesville. People traveled from Monrovia for several reasons, she said. Some people came to see former Vice President Joseph Boakai, others came just to be in the crowd.
"Some came out in search of food and money, while others are party members," Peabody said. "There's suffering; hunger is killing people, that is why you see crowds everywhere. I don't belong to any party but I have my voter's card."
Also speaking to FrontPageAfrica, Massa Padmore, said, "I was part of the rally here in Ganta. Nobody gave me money. I live in Saclepia but had to come all the way to join the rally because I want Boakai to be President. Maybe, other political parties are giving money to people to come out and support them. But I don't think Boakai's crowds are fake."
Another resident of Saclepia, Margret Paye, described herself as 'Queen of Boakai' saying, "Even my pastor is a member of Unity Party . We need change. The last six years is something the mouth can't say. We are calling on God to give us a good leader who truly understands what the people are passing through.
'Blatant lie'
Unity Party has denied trucking people from Monrovia to participate in the political rallies in Bong and Nimba. The party maintained that everyone who gathered at the stadiums in Bong and Nimba was resident of t She
Dabah Varpilah, UP's senior national vice chairlady, said the crowd at the two rallies was an indication of the "absolute display of love for, acceptability of the "Rescue Mission."
"We were not surprised at the rousing reception accorded our standard bearer and vice standard bearer, and his entourage because the party is solidly on the ground because they want change," she said.
Liberians, she said, recognize that Former Vice President Boakai and his running mate, Jeremiah Koung, have the capacity, competence, and political acumen, she said.
"UP applauds its members across the three counties for the massive turnout, organization, and reception accorded Ambassador Boakai and Senator Koung," she said.
Boakai's "ill-health'
The 78-year-old Boakai's ability to conduct an energetic campaign due to his ailing health has been a major talking point, but his vice standard bearer, along with his key political ally, Senators Jeremiah Koung and Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, have suggested that his presence on the campaign trail may not be necessary.
Last month, a group of Legislative staff organized an endorsement program for Amb. Joseph Boakai and Sen. Jeremiah Koung. It is unclear why Amb. Boakai was unable to attend the elaborate ceremony. Nonetheless, Senators Koung and Karnga-Lawrence expressed in their speeches that they would advise the standard bearer to refrain from participating in the campaign and instead await his induction.
Sen. Karnga-Lawrence, who has been dubbed by the United Party as the 'Mother of the Rescue Mission', told the legislative staffers that they, as a team have their eyes fixed on the presidency and would work as a team during the campaign.
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"They're looking at the President, that's Joseph Boakai, we're looking at the presidency - that comes with a team, when you have such a team, the country will succeed. We'll tell Boakai go find a place in Lofa and go on vacation, we do not need you on the campaign trail. We'll tell him, go and wait for your induction," she said.
Buttressing her comments, Sen. Koung also said, "Like she said, we'll tell oldman Boakai to sit down, we'll go across this country. Each of us sitting here knows how to campaign. We'll sleep in the car up to October 10."
Political pundits view these comments as a calculated strategy to provide a justification for the potential absence of the elderly standard bearer from numerous campaign activities leading up to the October 10 elections.
Amb. Boakai's health has always been a point of controversy when discussing his presidential ambition. He has often maintained that he is fit as a fiddle to contest the election.
However, in early January, Amb. Boakai was admitted at the ELWA Hospital for almost a fortnight. Though members of the Unity Party remained coy and only have out scanty details pertaining to his illness, it was believed that the former vice president suffered a mild stroke.
He left for the United States after being discharged from the hospital.
But as his vice standard bearer and Sen. Karnga-Lawrence have started speaking of his absence during the campaign period, FrontPageAfrica has gathered that Amb. Boakai is due to have an artery replacement in his heart to regularize his heartbeat.
Amb. Boakai, FrontPageAfrica gathered, was supposed to have undergone the surgery on March 23 at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, but he called it off, taking into consideration that it would have taken his six-12 months to recover.
According to medical sources, the Unity Party standard bearer is increasingly experiencing shortness of breath due to palpitations (irregular heartbeat). Also, his heart is reportedly now 97.5 percent reliant on the pacemaker installed in 2018.
