–But ECOWAS To Intervene; Sends Mediation Team
President Joseph N. Boakai has decided to derecognize the legitimacy of Cllr. Jonathan Fonati Koffa as Speaker of the 55th House of Representatives by relying on the Supreme Court’s failure to grant a writ of prohibition in the House’s impasse and other related matters, which has the propensity to escalate the tension on Capitol Hill and have severe consequences on the ARREST agenda.
President Boakai, in separate letters addressed to the Chief Clerk of the House, Mildred Sayeh, and the Secretary of the Senate, Nanbolor Singbeh, made emphatic that he would delay the submission of the 2025 draft national budget to the Speaker given the Constitutional implications of the impasse at the House of Representatives.
Being highly respected by the entire first branch of government for his vast experience in government, as well as age factor, it was expected that President Boakai would proffer ideas through which the lawmakers could find a common ground or, at least, begin to work out modalities to solve their problem.
Unfortunately, the President chose to recount the refusal of the Supreme Court to issue a writ of prohibition prayed for by the Speaker and a letter asking him to instruct his officials not to appear before the majority members of the House, and concluded that he is holding legal consultations to make an informed decision.
The President did not make clear how long his consultation would take, but with the slow pace of the resolution of the lawmakers’ conflict it is becoming obvious that there could be fiscal and monetary obstructions in 2025 to undertake development initiatives, with the Rescue Mission running its second year with little to show.
With the House of Representatives not holding session for about a month now, the lawmakers have already breached Article 40 of the Constitution, in addition to several Standing Rules of the House. According to Article 40, “Neither House shall adjourn for more than five days without the consent of the other…” Observers have begun to ask whether members of the lower House would still be paid for the month that they did not work.
Meanwhile, a mediation mission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is expected to arrive today to gather the root causes of the impasse at the House of Representatives and engage with key stakeholders to find a peaceful resolution.
The mission comprises of five members, and is headed by the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Rt. Hon. Hadja Memounatou Ibrahima, and seeks to propose concrete recommendations to the ECOWAS authority, the Liberian government and all stakeholders with the view of maintaining political stability and cohesion in the member states.
According to ECOWAS, Liberia has recently recorded impressive benchmarks in respect of consolidating the gains of the return of peace, security and democratic systems, particularly with the smooth transition of power in November 2023; however, the present political impasse at play in the House of Representatives threatens to mar this collective community effort to maintain peace and security in a fragile region that is equally grippling with the aftermath of coups d’etat in four member states and the exit threats of three of the four.
“Consequently, it is based on this fragility that directives were issued by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his capacity as the current Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State, to seek an immediate parliamentary resolution to this parliamentary crisis through the Community Parliament,” an ECOWAS Parliament letter addressed to Speaker read.
The delegation noted that it will be leaning on Senator Edwin Melvin Snow Jr., Head of the Liberian Delegation to ECOWAS Parliament, for support with all necessary arrangements in connection with the meetings.
Surprisingly, members of the “majority bloc” of the House of Representatives have described the ECOWAS Parliament’s letter as a manipulation of Senator Snowe to bring Liberia to public disgrace.
This statement has raised concerns as to whether or not the “majority bloc” will honor the ECOWAS Parliament’s mediation or would continue with its pressure to have Speaker Koffa resign.