Monrovia — Since the election of President Joseph Boakai, the name of former foreign Minister Augustine Ngafuan has been ringing. An old hand at the Ministry, Ngafuan, served as Foreign Minister from 2012 to 2015 under the presidency of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. He is also a former Minister of Finance. Mr. Ngafuan is currently the Country Manager of the African Development Bank in Uganda.
Over the past few days, the former public servant in the administration of former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has been rumored to be working behind the scenes as one of the custodians of appointments in the Boakai administration. When blogger/activist Martin Kollie began raising questions about the education credentials of Sara Nyanti Beysolow, Mr. Boakai's nominee to head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, many began to suggest that Mr. Ngafuan was behind those attacks to undermine Madam Beysolow in order to be considered for the job.
Several attempts by FrontPageAfrica to reach Mr. Ngafuan to address these multiple allegations proved futile, but a very close source to the former minister outrightly rejected the claims, stating that they are patently false and cheap. The source said Ngafuan is not interested in a job in the Boakai administration at the moment. The source said, the 53-year-old former minister had consistently informed members of his inner circle and friends that he would lend his fullest support to President Boakai and his team to succeed, but not necessarily through occupying a government job. Ngaf, (as Mr. Ngafuan is affectionately called by his peers and friends) told us he "work with, but not in the government."
The source furthered that Ngafuan, considered by many as one of the top UP strategists, came in country to attend the inauguration of President Boakai, but departed for Uganda on last Friday night. The source added that while in Liberia, "Ngafuan never served on any appointment or vetting committee and was never a "key name supplier" to the Senatorial Appointment Committee as reported in yesterday's edition of FrontPage Africa It is Ngafuan's wish that competent, credible, patriotic, and visionary Liberians would be appointed to serve the Boakai government."
The former minister posted a photo on his Facebook page Monday, receiving the Vice President for Power, Energy Climate Change & Green Growth of African Development Bank (AFDB), Dr. Kevn K. Kariuki at the Entebe International Airport in Uganda. Dr. Kariuki is on a two-day visit to Uganda and will lead the bank's high-level dialogue on the Uganda energy sector.
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Mr. Ngafuan, an economist, accountant, and diplomat with a history of service in and out of government, also has previous stints with the Central Bank of Liberia as Head of International Banking, Senior Bank Analyst, and Bank Examine. He is also worked as Independent Director (Chair, Audit Committee & Member, Credit Committee) of Ecobank Liberia Limited; Secretary, Board of Trustees of the University of Liberia, and Part-time Lecturer in Public Financial Management (PFM), Liberia Institute of Public Administration. Known simply as Ngaf to his peers, Ngafuan has demonstrated strong technical and managerial skills in the formulation and implementation of public financial management and fiscal policy reforms and in working with national, international, and non-governmental stakeholders in developing and achieving sustainable development, foreign policy, and regional cooperation objectives. Also skilled in Project Management, Corporate Governance, Capacity Building, Negotiations, International Relations, Policy Development and Implementation, Communications, and Advocacy.
Mr. Ngafuan, often regarded as a future leader in the Unity Party and heir apparent to the incoming president but his omission from the transition team few months ago raised some questions as to whether he had a future in a Boakai-led government.
