Capitol Hill — Sanctioned Margibi County Senator Nathaniel McGill has challenged the governments of the United States and Liberia to address the sanctions imposed on him and to hold both past and current public officials accountable for their actions while in office.
Senator McGill, a former Chairman of the opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and Minister of State for Presidential Affairs under the administration of ex-President George Manneh Weah, was compelled to resign after being accused by the US government of bribing business owners, receiving bribes from potential investors, and accepting kickbacks for steering contracts to companies in which he held an interest.
According to the US government, McGill manipulated public procurement processes to award multi-million-dollar contracts to companies in which he had ownership, including by abusing emergency procurement processes to rig contract bids.
McGill is also accused of involvement in a wide range of other corrupt schemes, including soliciting bribes from government office seekers and misappropriating government assets for his personal gain. He is accused of using government funds allocated to other Liberian government institutions to run his own projects, made off-the-books payments in cash to senior government leaders, and organized warlords to threaten political rivals.
The US government further stated, "McGill has received an unjustified stipend from various Liberian government institutions and used his position to prevent his misappropriation from being discovered. McGill regularly distributes thousands of dollars in undocumented cash to other government officials for government and non-government activities."
However, during a recent news conference at the Capitol Building in Monrovia, Senator McGill said he would continue to walk as a free man until proven guilty in a court of law on the allegations made by the US government.
He noted despite being sanctioned, his constituents elected him to serve in the Legislature, and he believes some individuals are using the sanctions to silence him. "I don't like to dwell on this sanction thing because it's been more than a year. The American people put me on sanctions; they will deal with it. They restricted me and said I can't travel to America; they will deal with that. They have the authority to handle that. I'm not going to deal with it, but I will deal with the situation in Liberia," McGill stated.
Calls for Accountability
Senator McGill reiterated his consistent support for an audit of the Ministry of State under his administration and called on the Unity Party (UP)-led government of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to hold both past and current public officials accountable for their actions.
He stressed that no public official should be afraid to account for their stewardship. "When people call you, go and answer questions. The day I'm called, I will go and answer questions. But until then, I'm a free man. Under our law and constitution, it says a man is presumed innocent until proven guilty," McGill added.
Unmoved by Sanctions
Senator McGill claimed that those who elected him to the National Legislature are fully aware of the allegations against him by the US government, and as such, he is no longer moved by discussions about the sanctions. He further boasted that no allegations have been made against him by anyone or the government in Liberia, stating, "Since I was born, nobody has accused me of a crime in this country, and I'm proud of that."
"Forget about what happened; that's between another country (America) and myself. So, don't depend on that. If you have issues, bring them up; people must not use the sanctions allegations to silence me. But that's a mistake; I can never be silenced."
"I won with more than 52,000 votes when I ran under allegations; my constituents are knowledgeable. If they were not aware of the situation, they wouldn't have voted for me. They sent me here to defend them even in the face of allegations," McGill said.
He also accused some media practitioners of reporting based on gossip instead of uncovering the facts surrounding the allegations against him and others. He further raised concerns about a plan to indict him for employing Liberians during the past administration.
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"People are looking for flimsy things against me due to my stance on critical national issues affecting my constituents," he said, adding, "If you do something wrong in this government, I will say it."
Defending McGill
Also speaking, Representative Musa Hassan Bility, who has himself been accused of acts of corruption by FIFA, strongly defended Senator McGill. He argued that those consistently raising the sanctions issue should encourage the US government to provide evidence that could lead to McGill's prosecution.
"This man has been accused; you have a government in place that has done nothing to ask the accuser to produce the evidence against him. He has cried for that and has yet to receive it. He has a responsibility to his people, and he has come here to defend his constitutional obligation to them," Bility said.
