The embattled Speaker of the 55th House of Representative, Cllr. Jonathan Fonati Koffa, has officially resign after several interventions and negotiations.
Cllr. Koffa’s resignation letter was delivered early Monday and took effect by 12:00 noon, bringing a final closure to the long-running House impasse, which has crippled the activities of the first branch of government.
According to information, the Archbishop of Monrovia, Gabriel Blamo Snosio Jubwe, was contacted by stakeholders to initiate a dialogue on the way forward in the House matter between Speaker Koffa and President Boakai, and a common ground was reached for the Speaker to resign.
The meeting, which was attended only by the President, the Speaker and the Archbishop, was held on Thursday, May 8, 2025, and Koffa, who is an ardent Catholic, honored the intervention of the archbishop and lowered his interest for harmony to prevail.
Cllr. Koffa’s resignation has given way for other issues that form part of the negotiation to take effect.
Among other things, it is said that Cllr. Koffa’s letter comes with two preconditions that are required to be sorted out, and anything contrary would further continue the impasse in the House.
The first precondition is that all the lawmakers who were “illegally” suspended by the “majority block” be given their full salaries and benefits that were withheld for the past months, including his.
The second precondition is that he would resign and turn over to the most senior ranking official of the House, the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Fallah, who would then assume the position of Acting Speaker, and later conduct election for the Speakership as required by the Standing Rules.
Accordingly, this has nullified Representative Richard Koon’s claim to the Speakership, as he, too, has acknowledged the Speaker’s resignation, and has declared his intention to contest and become the legally recognized Speaker of the House.
It is reported that there have been many failed negotiations since the Supreme Court rendered a judgment in the House’s Bill of Information.
President Boakai was reportedly advised to involve some eminent citizens to intervene in order to restore the rule of law in his government, as no amount of rhetoric, threat or politics could overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling, and Koffa would have been the recognized Speaker for as long as the case continues.
A previous dialogue, brokered by Sis Mary Laurene Browne, reportedly failed, with the parties involved refusing the terms of the negotiation.
Acknowledging the consequences of the House and the Executive being at loggerhead, an influential member of the Judiciary (name withheld) took up the challenge to bring calm, and therefore went to the President and asked that he involve the archbishop, who has the listening ears of Koffa.