MONROVIA- The undiluted debate over whether or not in the turnover note of former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a mouth-watering $ US 150 Million was stipulated is far from being over.
Upon assuming the mantle of authority in 2018, President George M. Weah has on countless occasions mentioned that he inherited a broken economy and that the state coffer was in red.
But former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has swiftly endeavored to disinfect the negative claim made against her.
In response, Madam Johnson-Sirleaf mentioned that she left $ US 150 Million in the State coffer.
I left behind one hundred fifty million United States (US$150m) Dollars in the national covers; perhaps, you are not reading the turnover note I gave you, but the state of the economy is stable and strong,” the Harvard-trained economist and former International Monetary Fund (IMF) official told President Weah in 2018.
As the public has been kept in a smokescreen, the Senator of Nimba County and former Political Leader of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction, (MDR) Prince Y. Johnson has breathed fresh air into the lingering debate.
Senator Johnson mentioned that he has seen the turnover note from former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to current President George M. Weah in January 2018.
He disclosed that the amount of $ US 150 Million has been placed in the turnover note.
“I have seen the turnover note to President Weah from former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and in that note, I saw in it US$ 150 million as a net reserve for the people of Liberia,” the Nimba Senator told journalists in Monrovia last week.
Senator Johnson has put out an open challenge to the Weah-led Government to disprove his claims.
“I challenge President Weah and his government to prove me wrong or right by publishing the turnover note to him by Madam Sirleaf in 2018 about the state of the economy,” he said.
He vowed to lobby with his colleagues on Capitol Hill to prevail on President Weah to publish the turnover note.
It was alleged that former President Sirleaf strategically and technically supported Mr. Weah during the 2017 Representative and Presidential Elections with visible pieces of evidence shown through and by his actions at the time to ensure that Mr. Weah’s CDC wins the presidential contest between the then ruling Unity Party (UP) and the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).
With the fresh challenge thrown at the feet of President Weah, all ears and eyes are now wide open to hear President Weah.
Pundits conceive that the publication of the turnover note will put the pervasive debate to bed.
The Collaborating Political Parties, of Liberia (CPP), has expressed serious concerns over statements by the Leadership of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) that the Government of Liberia is secretly planning to assassinate Senator Prince Y. Johnson of Nimba County and founder of the MDR, because of criticisms Sen. Johnson made against the President of Liberia, in response to the President’s State of the Nation Address.
According to a press release issued recently in Monrovia, the CPP views these statements as very serious and calls on the Government of Liberia to launch an immediate probe, to ascertain the veracity of the claims, and bring any perpetrator to justice.
The CPP wishes to remind the Government of Liberia, that Sen. Johnson, like any Liberian in general, and any political leader in particular, has the constitutionally protected right to criticize the government and the President for bad governance, without fear of secret assassination. The CPP calls on the Government to ensure that Sen. Johnson has adequate security and protection, to guarantee his safety.
Alphonso Toweh
Has been in the profession for over twenty years. He has worked for many international media outlets including: West Africa Magazine, Africa Week Magazine, African Observer and did occasional reporting for CNN, BBC World Service, Sunday Times, NPR, Radio Deutchewells, Radio Netherlands. He is the current correspondent for Reuters
He holds first MA with honors in International Relations and a candidate for second master in International Peace studies and Conflict Resolution from the University of Liberia.