By Ramsey N Singbeh Jr
Email: director@news.throngtalk.com
Contact: +231772641146 / 880147358
As the Liberian Leader, Joseph Nyumah Boakai, Sr warms up for the second State Of Nation Address (SONA) under his presidency, there are a lot of questions being asked and one of them which is the million dollar question on the lips of most Liberians is: “How will Boakai address Speakers Jonathan Fonati Kofa and Richard Nagbe Koon in their respective speakership pofolio?”
In line with the Constitution of Liberia, Chapter six (6) which talks about the Executive Branch of the Liberian Government, specifically spelled out in article fifty-eight (58), the president is under obligation to present on a fourth working Monday of January in each year the administration’s legislative program for the ensuing session, and shall once a year report to the Legislature on the state of the Republic.
Therefore, and in line with this constitutional mandate, President Boakai is expected on this Monday January 27, 2025 perform such duty.
In reporting to the Legislature, the head of this branch of the Liberian Government is the speaker who is the 3rd in command and in the current case, there are two speakers including the one constitutionally elected who is Cllr Jonathan Fonati Kofa with the minority of the lawmakers backing him and the politically elected one Richard Nagbe Koon with the majority of the lawmakers on his side.
Speaker Koon is considered by many people as a man unlawfully occupying the speakership position after he and the rest of the lawmakers who support him refused to go back and do the rightful thing or handle their business in line with the law, following a recent rulling of the Supreme Court of Liberia which described the actions of the Legislature as something that contravenes the law, urging them to conduct themselves in line with the law.
This rulling came after Speaker Kofa ran to the highest court in the country considering his removal by his colleagues, lawmakers as unlawful.
The speaker who won Montserrado County District #: 11 Representative Richard Nagbe Koon five (5) votes margin during the leadership election of the House of Representatives that brought him to the position as a speaker says he stands in line with the law and challenges his colleagues up to presence to remove him in line with the law.
Kofa also believes that as far as the law is concerned, he is the legitimate Speaker of the House of Representatives. However, on the other hand, Koon is the interest of the president and a member of his rulling Unity Party. As an endorsement of Koon’s leadership, the president signed the budget into law after it was passed under the leadership of Koon instead of Kofa.
According to the ARREST Agenda of Boakai, which talks about Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Sanitation and Tourism, the president promises to ensure that the rule of law is protected in the country but on the contrary, the president ignores the leadership of the legitimately elected Speaker Kofa and is making business with his partisan, the politically elected Speaker Koon.
Both local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have condemned the action of the Legislature through the ‘Majority Block’ warning the president to obey the law.
As Kofa remains very consistent with his fight while still considering himself as the legitimate Speaker, also taking into account that he has all rights to be present at the State Of Nation Address (SONA) where also Speaker Koon will be, how will the president address the both of them who carry speakership title? Will he ignore Kofa and address Koon or ignore Koon and address Kofa sa the speaker?
Recently, because of the controversy at the Legislature over the speakership post, Ghana reportedly invited the two speakers at the country’s just ended inauguration.
If Boakai truly is a respecter of the law, will he address Koon or Kofa? The million dollars question is: How will Boakai address Kofa and Koon in their speakership positions?
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