The Vice President-elect, Jeremiah Kpan Koung, is appealing to the Nimba Legislative Caucus to lead mediation between two sons of Nimba who harbor the similar ambition of contesting for the Deputy Speaker position at the House of Representatives. He made the appeal recently on Voice of Nimba Radio Station in Ganta.
Three-term Representative, Samuel Kogar, electoral district #5, Nimba County, and freshman Representative, Musa Hassan Bility, district #7, Nimba County, opt to be the second most powerful man in the Lower House of the National Legislature.
Senator Koung said the caucus should take seize of the matter by initiating dialogue between both men for one person to step aside.
When asked why he, as a major political actor and leader of the county, cannot lead such effort, Koung said it would be a procedural error for negotiation or mediation to begin at the top.
He said he wants for the caucus to begin the process, and if the caucaus needs additional support then they can come in. Koung stated that he wants for the caucus to use the bottom-to-top approach to resolve what has the propensity of creating disunity.
Representative Samuel Kogar, the National Chairman of the opposition People’s Unification Party (PUP), rigorously supported and campaigned for the Unity Party and MDR during the first and second rounds of the election against his PUP political leader, sanctioned Emmanuel Nuquay, and all executive members who endorsed the ruling CDC.
For Bility, a man believed to be a CDC operative who allegedly destabilized the CPP and later expelled the Liberty Party Political Leader, Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence, during the campaign was heard in a Facebook podcast as saying that he will never be a part of any decision that would make Joseph Nyumah Boakai President.
Bility was again heard declaring that he would rather not take his seat as Representative if CPP presidential candidate, Alexander Benedict Cummings, did not win the election.
Strangely after his certification, Bility was quick to declare his intention for the Speaker position, but surprisingly abandoned his first ambition to go for the Deputy Speaker position, which Representative Kogar had earlier announced his intention for.
Meanwhile, many political pundits believe that Kogar is best suited for the post based on his many years of knowledge and experience in legislative politics as well as his moral and critical stance on critical national issues, unlike Bility whose character has been engulfed with controversy, including the national road fund indictment, the misappropriation of the FIFA Ebola Fund, among others.
The pundits also claim Bility’s attitude of abandoning his first quest to come down to the Deputy Speaker position, which he was fully aware his kinsman Kogar was already contesting for, is a sign of inconsistency and desperation which would serve as a recipe of disintegrating the shared unity of Nimba.
They added that if both men insist of contesting the chances of either of them winning would be almost impossible.
Senator Koung said he has decided not to get too much involved with local Nimba politics to avoid being perceived as dictating. Instead, his main objective for now is to execute a direct mandate to get involved with legislative politics to ensure the UP/MDR produces the next Speaker and Senate Pro-Temp of the House of Representatives and Senate, as instructed by his boss President-elect Ambassador Joseph Nyumah Boakai.
To execute such mandate, Koung has announced that negotiation to make Senator Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence as Senate Pro-Temp is almost a done deal while the process to make Representative Richard Koon as Speaker is well on course.