MONROVIA — President Joseph Nyuma Boakai says a major, highly secured construction project in his hometown of Foya began without his knowledge, a striking admission that has raises national and international concern over who authorized the project, how it is being funded, and whether Liberia's executive oversight mechanisms are functioning as promised under the country's new administration.
Boakai made the disclosure during a nationwide broadcast on the state-run Liberia Broadcasting System, seeking to quell months of speculation that the expansive compound under construction in Lofa County was intended as a private presidential villa. He denied any personal benefit from the project and said it was never designed as a retirement residence.
"I don't need a retirement home built for me by the public," Boakai said. "I have a house in Foya. I will rebuild it myself. I have never taken government money for personal use."
The president said the facility is intended to serve as a regional peace and diplomacy center, aligned with Liberia's role in the Mano River Union (MRU), a sub-regional bloc that includes Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte d'Ivoire. He argued that the project reflects Liberia's ambition to reposition itself as a neutral mediator amid growing political and security pressures in West Africa.
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A Project That Emerged Without Public Record
The controversy began in early September after civil society advocate Eddie D. Jarwolo, head of the governance watchdog NAYMOTE-Liberia, released aerial images showing a sprawling, multi-structure compound rising in a remote area of Foya, President Boakai's hometown near Liberia's northern border.
The scale of the construction, the presence of state security, and the absence of any public procurement record immediately raised alarm. No budget allocation, legislative approval, donor agreement, or procurement notice has been publicly identified for the project, despite its apparent multi-million-dollar cost.
Public concern deepened as senior government officials offered conflicting explanations. The Ministry of Information initially said the project was funded through the MRU, a claim later withdrawn by Deputy Information Minister Daniel Sando. Presidential Press Secretary Kula Nyei Fofana later acknowledged she lacked information on who authorized or financed the construction.
Take a listen to President Joseph Boakai claiming he was initially unaware of the project
The President's Defense -- and Its Implications
In his broadcast remarks, Boakai acknowledged that the project did not initially come to his attention, an admission that analysts say is unusual for a sitting head of state.
Governance experts note that a project of such scale, located in the president's hometown, guarded by state security, and executed under tight secrecy, would normally require clear presidential authorization or, at a minimum, formal executive awareness.
Echoes of Past Controversies
The Foya project has revived memories of unexplained construction controversies under former President George Manneh Weah, whose administration faced sustained criticism over lavish private developments that emerged during his tenure without clear disclosure of funding sources.
Those episodes eroded public trust and became symbols of weak accountability in a country still recovering from civil war, Ebola, and prolonged economic fragility.
Boakai, a former vice president who campaigned on integrity and reform, has sought to distance his administration from those precedents. Yet civil society groups warn that credibility depends not on assurances but on documentation.
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Regional Ambitions, Domestic Scrutiny
The government maintains that the Foya facility will host high-level regional meetings and support conflict-prevention diplomacy, citing tensions such as the long-running Guinea-Sierra Leone border dispute and political instability across parts of the Sahel and coastal West Africa.
Boakai compared the project to planned infrastructure elsewhere in the country, including a proposed conference center in central Liberia, describing them as part of a broader decentralization strategy.
Still, local journalists in Lofa County report restricted access to the site, heavy security, and limited briefing even for county officials. Civil society leaders in the region say they have not been consulted and fear political repercussions for speaking publicly.
