Monrovia — Mr. Benoni Urey, the political leader of the All Liberian Party, has openly expressed remorse for the disputes and conflicts he engaged in with former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the late Cllr. Charles Brumskine, and Alexander Cummings, all in the context of supporting former Vice President Joseph Boakai's bid for the presidency.
"I'm sorry I did not join Brumskine and Cummings when they did not support him, and probably they knew him better than I did. Now, I see why they did not support him," Urey said.
He made the statement Monday evening when he appeared on 'The Closing Argument,' a talk show hosted on KMTV.
Urey's statement was in reaction to a disclosure made by the standard bearer of the Unity Party, accusing Urey of pressuring him to put out 15,000 people on the streets to protest the 2017 presidential election result.
"Mr. Urey told me that we could put 15,000 people in the streets. However, I wasn't willing to put people in harm's way. I couldn't allow people to die because of me. Believe me, even if I had taken the country at that time, I wouldn't be alive today," Amb. Boakai said when he appeared on Truth FM on Monday.
Mr. Urey and his ALP had been a formidable ally to Amb. Boakai, whom Urey personally believed was more fit and experienced for the presidency than the rest of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) leaders.
Mr. Urey has publicly declared that Mr. Cummings, in his own words, "was not fit to be President," owing to his late arrival on the political landscape.
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Mr. Urey is on record for saying, "People usually elect people who have worked in government. You don't elect people who just come from one country and want to be President in another. You elect people based on their experience and reputation. And I think of the three candidates, Joe Boakai has the most experience; Joe Boakai has stood the test of time, and he's a relatively decent person."
It can also be recalled that under Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence and Boakai's watch of the CPP, Urey accused Cummings of tampering with the CPP Framework Document. Urey then joined the CDC-led government to prosecute Cummings for forgery. Amb. Boakai and an array of ALP and UP high-ranking members served as witnesses in the case, which was later dropped by the state.
However, in the latest turn of events, Urey wondered why Boakai would spread "lies" about him on national radio.
"Worst case scenario, let's say I told Joseph Boakai what he said I did, should he come on national radio to discuss what I said? Is this someone who wants to be president of Liberia? Talking about being ungrateful, this is it. Is this not the same man I defended during the presidential debate? I defended this old man because I thought he was a good character," Urey said.
Urey added, "Now, I see why Ellen made the decision she made in 2017, and Liberians were jumping all over Ellen. I must use this platform to apologize to Ellen and all of those that we wrongly judged because of this man."
