A group of leading civil society and pro-democracy organizations, under the banner, “Consortium of Pro-democracy Organizations of Liberia (COPOL)”, has warned Montserrado County Senator, Abraham Darius Dillon, to immediately cease his on-going campaign against the Minister of Labor, Cllr. Cooper Kruah, which they say could have negative repercussions in dividing the historically friendly people of both Nimba and Grand Bassa counties. The group has given Senator Dillon a two-week ultimatum to provide empirical evidence to what it described as his sustained but baseless allegations of “work permit job sales” against Minister Kruah or face unspecified actions, including protests at his Capitol Building office.
The Civil Society Consortium accused Senator Dillon of sinister maneuvers to break down the current “Unity Party Alliance Rescue Mission Government” of President Joseph Nyumah Boakai and Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung.
The group, in a major press statement released in Monrovia over the weekend, listed several counts linking Senator Dillon to a deep motive to fracture the Unity Party-Alliance Government, and expressed disdain, specifically over consistent, baseless and unfounded accusations of work permit and job sales to foreigners.
It condemned Senator Dillon for not backing at several breaches of his own pre-campaign promises over seven years ago, including not riding an official assigned vehicle that would cost over US$40,000, vehement rejection of commercial flight, provision of half his monthly salaries and benefits to the development initiatives of Montserrado County.
All of these promises, according to the Civil Society Consortium, have been violated by Senator Dillon, whom the group accused of using vague accusations of work permit sales allegations against the Labor Minister to recover from his political failure, in a bid to seek 2029 re-election.
The Civil Society Consortium further expressed frustration over Senator Dillon’s consistent insensitivity to several burning issues confronting his constituents across Montserrado County, including rampant drug addiction, bad road network, domestic violence, especially rape and low salaries for public sector workers.
The Consortium further questioned Senator Dillon’s unilateral authority as a member of the Senate Committee on Labor in raining provocative unsubstantiated accusations against Labor Minister Kruah, when the committee is under statutory mandate to release statements on crucial national issues by consensus through its Chairman, Veteran Grand Gedeh County Senator and former Foreign Minister, Thomas Yaya Nimely, or his designee.
The pro-democracy consortium described Senator Dillon’s on-going campaign against the Labor Minister Kruah, a senior political figure of Nimba County, as a clever ploy to undermine the base of the Unity Party-Alliance Government. The organization expressed disbelief in the Senator’s deliberate refusal over the past two years, since Labor Minister Kruah’s ascendancy to visit and assess on-going transformation, but has, instead, used remote sources as the basis for his besmear campaign against the minister.
This sinister maneuver, the Consortium warned, is a dangerous gameplay by Senator Dillon to forestall President Boakai and Vice President Koung’s second term chance in the 2029 elections by reducing the popular votes of the Nimba people, home of Labor Minister Kruah and the Vice President. The group revealed that this could be a political revenge by Senator Dillon against the late twisted decision in the last general and presidential elections, when Dillon’s kinswoman, now Pro-Tempore, Nyonblee Karngar-Lawrence, was dropped as the vice presidential running mate and replaced by current Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung, a kinsman of Labor Minister Kruah.
The group, which comprises The Patriotic Consciousness Association of Liberia (PACA), Survival Human Foundation of Liberia (SUHFOL), Civil Society Network of Liberia and Mothers of Tomorrow (MOT), then applauded the Labor Minister for the tremendous strides in the transformation of the decades-old bereft labor sector, and called for cooperation from other branches of the government to enhance gains being made for the betterment of the Liberian people.
The group particularly recounted the recent upward adjustment in the annual Work Permit Fees for foreign workers in order to create more jobs for Liberians, mainly the youthful population.
The Civil Society Consortium further expressed shock over the failure of Senator Dillon, a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Labor, to pay an assessment visit to the ministry, since the ascendancy of the current Rescue Mission Government and the appointment of Minister Kruah, almost two years now.
The group also questioned the true motive of the Montserrado Senator in directing the General Auditing Commission (GAC) to conduct audit, not only on the Labor Ministry’s financial activities, but to include business entities in possession of Alien Work Permits.
The Civil Society Consortium then expressed confidence in the professional efficiency of the GAC, as the sole government agency responsible to conduct fiscal audit, in line with its statutory functions, and not under political duress being mounted by the Montserrado Senator.
