Monrovia — In December 2023, former President George Manneh Weah reappointed Lassana Sannor as Deputy Secretary General at the Roberts Flight Information Region. Under the terms of the appointment and the Revised Agreement between the three Mano River Union countries - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the position of Secretary General shall be permanently filled by Liberia for a renewable term every four years.
On Monday, the Liberian occupying that position, Lasana Sannor came under attack by outsiders calling for his ouster from the position. Sannor has been in the position since 2018 when he was first appointed by President Weah.
Speaking to FrontPageAfrica Monday, Sannor explained that he was attacked by men believed to be supporters of the Unity Party. "They demanded I leave my office or be made to leave as it is their job and time. They made all sorts of threats on my life and that of my family. I am calling on the ruling establishment/ government to please intervene as I am not taking this for granted."
In recent days, FrontPageAfrica has learned that a number of Unity Party supporters have been pushing for the position and aiming to have Sannor replaced, despite the tenure on the position.
Among them, Daniel Johnson said to be pushed by Vice President Jeremiah Koung, Mark Quiah, said to be pushed by the President's son, Jojo and Emmanual Azango, a staunch UP supporter and advocate who is said to be eyeing which was once under the radar but is now one of the hotly-contest positions.
Johnson, an accountant is a former staffer at the International Rescue Committee who was once pursued by the United States District Court on charges of wire fraud and Theft of Property.
According to Sannor, the group pushing for ouster do not work for the FIR.
Some employees at the entity believe the push for Sannor's ouster signals a bad sign for the Boakai administration, especially coming from protesters believed to be from the UP-led government.
Some staffers claim that President Boakai's son, Jojo may be the one behind what happened on Monday as he is a good friend of one of those eyeing the position, Quiah. However, Quiah told FrontPageAfrica that those claims are far from the truth.
"The legal advisors and Minister of State to the President need to urgently advise him on said matter especially when it borders on an international agreement and if they truly came to rescue Liberia they can't revert to thuggish behavior. Gone are the days when President sons like Chucky Taylor paraded Liberia with impunity and this has to be curtailed now," said a staffer at the FIR who preferred anonymity for this report.
A source within the UP told FrontPageAfrica that even though President Weah reappointed Sannor, whoever is appointed to the position must be nominated by a letter to the council of ministers by the Minister of Transport. The Council of Ministers consists of the minister of transport from Liberia, Guinea, and Serria Leone. However, FrontPageAfrica has seen copies of a letter written by former Transport Minister Samuel Wlue confirming the President's reappointment of Sannor to the position.
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In that letter addressed to Mr. Mohammed Soumah, Secretary General of the Roberts FIR, Minister Wlue attached President Weah's letter notifying the body of Sannor's appointment.
The Robert Flight Information Region that was established in 1978 through a ratified agreement by Mano River Union Countries was revised in 2022 giving tenure positions to its appointed Secretary Generals. Article 3(4) provides for a tenure of 4years for the Secretary General for administration and a position being occupied by Liberia for which Lasana B. Sannor was reappointed by former President Weah.
A flight information service and an alerting service are the basic levels of air traffic service, providing information pertinent to the safe and efficient conduct of flights and alerting the different relevant authorities should an aircraft be in distress. These are available to all aircraft through an FIR. Higher levels of air traffic advisory and control services may be available within certain portions of airspace within an FIR, according to the ICAO class of that portion of airspace (with regard to national regulations), and the existence of a suitably equipped authority to provide the services.
