The Secretary General of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), Jefferson T. Koijee, has dragged the Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC), Amos Tweah, under the spotlight for spearheading an alleged criminal conspiracy designed by the Joseph Boakai administration to rob the nation of hundreds of millions, enrich a small circle of Unity Party loyalists, and quietly prepare the ground to rig the 2029 presidential election.
The Managing Director of LPRC, who has refused to resign his position as Secretary General of Unity Party in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, is allegedly endeavoring to amalgamate financial and human resources to fortify the UP come 2029, and to achieve this objective he has hurriedly ventured into importing petroleum products for sale, without transparency and accountability. According to information, the LPRC MD has incorporated several persons of the UP militant brigade, with the intention of launching his political bid to contest for the seat of representative in 2029. This move is said to have overcrowded the LPRC, with some employees sitting or roaming the entire day without any function.
Consequently, Tweh is allegedly exploring every avenue to generate funds to uphold the LPRC operations and, at the same, shoulder the responsibility of the UP and his political ambition; as such, he has allegedly procured petroleum products without any tender, violating the amended and restated Public Procurement and Concession Act.
However, Koijee has called on Liberians to rise up, expose and challenge individuals bent on filling their pockets with corrupted wealth, and to reject them come 2029, including Amos Tweh. “They may control institutions today, but they will never control the will and determination of a people who demand justice and accountability,” he stated.
According to Koijee, “The Amended and Restated Public Procurement and Concessions Act is clear: all procurement involving public funds must go through the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission. Yet today, Amos Tweh, the Secretary General of the Unity Party who now sits as Managing Director of the LPRC, has brazenly violated this law by secretly importing petroleum products without any international tender. This is a direct assault on the Liberian people.”
“Was this petroleum importation contract, valued in the hundreds of millions, subjected to the PPCC process? What is the annual value of this contract and how many years is it set to run? Which company was handpicked behind closed doors to benefit from this shady deal and what are the terms? Was a PPCC ‘No Objection’ ever obtained as the law requires?” Koijee asked rhetorically.
“The truth speaks for itself,” he said. “Amos Tweh and his Unity Party cartel are using the LPRC as their private bank, looting public funds and enriching themselves while the majority of the people struggle to buy a cup of rice or a gallon of gasoline. This is not leadership. This is organized economic gangsterism, carried out under the disguise of governance.”
The former Mayor of Monrovia warned that enough is enough, emphasizing that Liberia is not for sale to a cartel of greedy men who think state power is a business venture. “We will not remain silent while they mortgage our future and use petroleum dollars as a war chest to hijack the will of the people in 2029,” he lambasted.
“Let the nation and the world hear this loud and clear: the Liberian people are not asleep. We will resist with every fiber of our being. This country belongs to all of us, not to a handful of thieves hiding under the Unity Party banner,” he asserted.