What comes as a shock to many is the surfacing of the Vice President of the Republic of Liberia and Standard Bearer of the National Patriotic Party (NPP), Jewel Howard-Taylor, in the last phase of the presidential nationwide tour, taking place from June 3—7, 2021 in Lofa County. For some time now, it has been the popular view that President George M. Weah and his Vice President, Howard-Taylor, were not on good terms. According to political observers, it was the hope of the critics of government that the two leaders be at loggerhead until the 2023 general and presidential elections, as it would have given the opposition an added advantage in their pursuit to unseat President Weah.
On the contrary, the final phase of the nationwide tour kicked off yesterday, with President Weah and VP Taylor leading the delegation. Weah and Taylor seemed happy with each other, as they complemented each other throughout the day.
This “new” cordial relationship between the President and the Vice President has caught many individuals by surprise, leaving some to wonder whether it is not intended to save face in the public. It can be recalled that stalwarts of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) accused VP Taylor of supporting opposition candidates during the December 8, 2020 senatorial by-election. In fact, VP Taylor is on record for calling on the electorate not to vote individuals bent on squandering public funds—a statement interpreted as referring to candidates of the CDC who were already in the House of Representatives and wanting to become senators.
The statement did not go down well with supporters of the CDC, including members of the NPP, one of the parties in the tripartite arrangement of the Coalition. During a radio interview with Jallah Grayfield, a leader in the NPP called on his party to launch an investigation on VP Taylor for the statement she made, and if found guilty, be expelled from the NPP.
But what went without notice was that President Weah made no comment and did absolutely nothing about his Vice President’s behavior.
Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 appeared on the Spoon Talk and emphasized that VP Taylor and President Weah needed each other, which he said is in the interest of Liberia. From his observation, Senator Snowe said, it appears like the President and the Vice President took a little too long to understand each other, but from the recent look of things they seem to be on good notes.
According to Senator Snowe, the fact that the President can ask his Vice President to represent him at the recent ECOWAS summit and ask her to follow him to Lofa County on his nationwide tour, it speaks volumes about their relationship, which could yield fruits for the country.
He said President Weah is not the talking type—he acts more than he speaks and would withdraw when he is not happy; VP Taylor is the person who performs 100% or 0%–either at her best or worst. However, he said, men are most times intimidated when women are at their best, and this could have been the scenario between President Weah and VP Taylor.
Senator Snowe’s prediction could arguably be excellently correct, as President Weah has began to call his Vice President sweet names—suggesting that they are on good terms now, even if there were some issues in the past.
In Lofa County, President Weah described himself as the “striker” and VP Taylor as the “midfielder”, and that the two of them make a great team together. The two of them were side-by-side throughout yesterday, with VP Taylor making remarks before President Weah almost at all the gatherings.
From all indications, this suggests that the CDC is putting its broken pieces together and getting ready for the tough political tussle come 2023.