Less than three months to the holding of the legislative and presidential elections in October, the President of the Republic, George Manneh Weah, has received one of the most significant supports to his re-election bid, with the people of Grand Bassa County, a populous province, pouring out their endorsement and solidarity upon him.
In a statement delivered to the President Saturday, July 15, 2023, the Bassa people, through their elders, zoes and eminent personalities, said their decision was triggered by their satisfaction with President Weah’s demonstrated competence and passion in developing Liberia, stabilizing the economy and maintaining peace and stability over the last six years.
Before the statement was read and delivered, the people of Bassa unveiled their seriousness, honesty and commitment by coming out in their thousands, swarming every nook and corner of Buchanan City and displaying traditional rituals of moral bond to the President who has maternal link to Bassaland.
In various remarks, traditional chiefs, religious, women and youth leaders expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the government and President Weah for the spiraled, substantive development initiatives undertaken in every part of the country, including Grand Bassa County.
“Mr. President, we have seen and witnessed—and are impressed with—your unwavering determination and commitment to reshape our country and county since you took office in 2018,” the Bassa citizens asserted in their petition statement.
They spoke of dozens of projects undertaken under the leadership of the President across the five districts, initiatives they said were difficult to come in the history of the county since its creation.
They also noted the President’s gesture of paying WASSCE fees for hundreds of thousands of twelfth graders across the country, relieving parents of the huge burden they had painfully shouldered for years.
The Bassa citizens said they had no doubt and were very hopeful that the President would increase the volume of impactful projects in the country during his second term.
Responding to the petition, President Weah thanked the people of Bassa, and accepted their petition for his second term bid.
He recalled that the people of Bassa listened and harkened to his plea in 2017, and elected him massively, resulting into his victory that year.
“They came to you and said I knew nothing, but I want to tell you that I have done something,” he said, adding that his opponents who said they knew something but did nothing are bitter and angry because of the level of work he has done. “I know that you, the people of Bassa, will repeat what you did in 2017, by rejecting naysayers’ propaganda against me by electing me so that I will be able to do far more than I have done in the first term.”
President Weah said the people of Grand Bassa County did not make a mistake to petition him because the country is enjoying the best of democracy under his watch, as there is no political prisoners for the last six years and freedom of expression has blossomed under his leadership.
He thanked the young people of Bassa for registering to vote. He asked them to make good use of the moment by kicking out non-achievers seeking to lead the nation.