Liberia: Majority Bloc Pressures Speaker Koffa to Vacate Workplace Amid Legislative Crisis
Monrovia – As the 55th Legislature prepares to start its second session on January 13, the self-styled Majority Bloc has intensified efforts to power Speaker Jonathan Fonati Koffa out of workplace. The bloc, which has declared Representative Richard Nagbe Koon as their Speaker, is demanding that Speaker Koffa vacate his Capitol Building workplace to make method for his or her most popular chief.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]
FrontPage Africa has obtained textual content message exchanges between Representative Kolleh, the Majority Bloc’s self-declared Chairman on Rules, Order, and Administration, and Speaker Koffa. In the messages, Rep. Kolleh ordered the Speaker to take away his belongings from the workplace to keep away from “future embarrassment.”
Text Message Exchange
Kolleh: “Good morning Hon. Koffa. Merry Christmas to you and the household. Hope this SMS meets you in good well being.
Please be reminded as soon as once more that you just haven’t turned over the important thing of the Speaker’s workplace. Said key was anticipated every week earlier than you filed earlier than the Supreme Court. You haven’t for the reason that ruling of stated court docket. We wrote you every week in the past asking for the important thing; once more, you haven’t turned it over.
Please adjust to the choice of plenary ASAP to afford future embarrassment. We have to arrange the workplace on the consolation of Hon. Richard N. Koon, Speaker of the fifty fifth Legislature.”
Koffa: “The Supreme Court has made no ruling on my illegal removal, Sir. Merry Christmas.”
Leadership Crisis Deepens
Despite the Supreme Court ruling that actions not aligned with the Constitution are extremely vires, the Majority Bloc, backed by some members of the Senate and the Executive, continues to strain Speaker Koffa to resign. The bloc argues that their declaration of Rep. Koon as Speaker represents the desire of the plenary.
The Majority Bloc has taken a number of drastic steps to cement its authority, together with ordering the Central Bank of Liberia and industrial banks to take away Speaker Koffa’s signature and that of his management from official data; declaring the Speaker’s submit vacant throughout a session presided over by Deputy Speaker Thomas P. Fallah, electing Rep. Koon as their Speaker, suspending seven pro-Koffa lawmakers. Speaker Koffa has resisted these actions, sustaining that they’re unconstitutional.
A Crisis Months within the Making
The management tussle erupted in October 2024 when the Majority Bloc started holding classes within the joint chambers of the Capitol Building, abandoning the primary chamber in a bid to weaken Speaker Koffa’s legitimacy. They accused of corruption and conflicting of curiosity, claims he rejected. The state of affairs escalated additional when the joint chamber was engulfed in flames, deepening divisions within the House of Representatives.
Implications for the President’s Annual Message
The ongoing disaster threatens to overshadow President Joseph Boakai’s upcoming State of the Nation Address, scheduled for the fourth working Monday in January.
The Constitution mandates that the Speaker of the House preside over the joint session of the Legislature throughout this handle. With two factions claiming legitimacy, considerations are mounting over potential disruptions throughout this key nationwide occasion.
As the second session of the fifty fifth Legislature approaches, all eyes can be on the Capitol Building to see if a decision to the standoff may be reached or if the disaster will additional destabilize the operations of Liberia’s Legislature.
