The Civil Society Network of Liberia have termed as dangerous and diabolical the quest by Deputy Speaker of the 54th Legislature, Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa to contest the Speakership of the 55th Legislature. “Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa lacks the standing to preside over the House of Representatives given the fact he is a convicted felon whom the people of Grand Kru County elected inadvertently,” A CSNL release stated.
According to the release, “While we recognize the sanctity of the House of Representatives to elect their own leadership in terms of who presides as Speaker, the Civil Society Network of Liberia says unequivocally that said decision must be taken with maximum due care so that our country’s democracy will not be hijacked by desperate political actors.
“The Civil Society Network of Liberia (CSNL) is therefore calling on members of the 55th Legislature, specifically the House of Representatives, to take judicial notice of the facts and circumstances above and denied Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa the opportunity of presiding over them as Speaker.
“It is a fact that Cllr J. Koffa is embroiled with malfeasances to the extent that he is a center of conflict of interest. Cllr. Koffa is offering legal counsels to the NPA, Maritime, Central Bank of Liberia, etc. What standing does Cllr. Koffa has when these state-owned enterprises appear before the House of Representative when they run contrary to governance norms?
“Finally, the Civil Society Network of Liberia is cautioning Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa to save face by contesting the Deputy Speaker Position, which he currently occupies, and stay clear of the Speaker position which he stands to lose. Failure to heed this CSNL warning, Cllr. Koffa will dramatically lose both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker positions respectively. A Hint to the Wise is Quite Sufficient”.