Meet the Margibi County Legislative Caucus Members

By Ramsey N Singbeh Jr

Email: director@news.throngtalk.com

Contact: +231772641146 / 880147358

Under the 55th Liberian Legislature, Throngtalk News Bureau has decided to take a brief look at the Margibi County Legislative Caucus, considering their paths to the Legislature, their names in the county, what they are criticized and hailed for etc.

This write-up endeavors to briefly present each of the members and some information about of them which seem to be the way the people they lead think about them.

Margibi has five political districts (one to five) and in line with the political tradition of the county, it is divided into Upper and Lower Margibi, this also sees the county fighting to balance leadership according to the two regions in time.

With five (5) representatives and two (2) senators, the county is politically charged like many other counties. The representatives are Roland O  Cooper of district #: 1, Ivar K Jones of district #: 2, Ellen A A Wreh of district #: 3, Emmanuel O Yarh of district #: 4 and Clarence G Gahr of district #: 5 as well as Senators Emmanuel J Nuquay and Nathaniel F McGill.

The Senators Of Margibi

Emmanuel J Nuquay

Voted for as a representative in 2005 under the Gbaisue Campaign Team, he served for 12 years representing the people of Margibi District #: 5 where the people themselves can give his performance report. Within that period, he served the House’s Committee on Ways Means and Finance for  eight years.

Became a speaker of the House of Representatives for relatively short period, ran as a running mate to now President Joseph Nyumah Boakai but their move to the Executive Mansion of Liberia did not succeed.

He was completely out of Legislative Politics till 2018 when the former president, George Weah appointed him as the Director General of the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority or LCAA following which he resigned and opted to become a senator in 2020.

In his third year, the senator along with other government officials were placed on US Visa Restriction which nearly tarnish his reputation both home and abroad. He is criticized for supporting folks in the county during elections which some people describe as imposing people on them. He is regarded as the political godfather and a senior senator of the county as well as someone who has done the highest amount of projects in the county.

He is also noted for giving and helping people. He is not known as a strong voice that speaks out at the Legislature but he is highly regarded as a powerful lawmaker amongst his colleagues. Somsse of the people find fault with him in the county as someone who attacks and goes after people but he says he does not go after people but when people go after him, he stands up to them. Until lately last year,he has been quiet in the county.

Nathaniel F McGill

Senator Nathaniel F McGill, an official of the Coalition for Democratic Change or CDC who worked very hard to ensuring that George Weah won the presidency was appointed as the Minister of States For Presidential Affairs and became the most powerful official in Weah’s regime and ran nearly the entire show around the president.

He is presently the chairman of the CDC Legislative Caucus but a few of the CDC lawmakers seem not to be honoring his leadership, probably due to the sanction and political disagreements.

He and few of Weah’s officials were placed on the US sanction, this which almost hampered his political life to the end, especially before he became a senator in Margibi saw him going quiet and slowing down on a lot of things in the public.

He was heavily criticized and seriously challenged during the 2023 elections in Margibi but he triumphed victorious with the aid of Weah and others who campaigned for him.

He is the chairman on the Liberian Senate Education Committee and a fierce critic of the Boakai’s administration. He is regarded in the county by some of the people as a big name and an influential person, and was also honored by some traditional leaders of the county as the ‘Darkpannah’ of Margibi during the campaign. It is reported that due to his performance, he might do little or nothing in the nine years. There are Margibians who bellieve that he is impacting the county.

The Representatives Of Margibi

Roland O Cooper

Representative Roland O Cooper is currently serving his second term as a lawmaker after he made a come back in 2023, one report says he was supported by Senator James Emmanuel Nuquay and others. It now appears that after the elections, he broke cordiality with senator Nuquay on grounds that he does not trust him anymore.

He lost the 2017 elections to now former Representative Tilberusa S Tarponweh whom he bounced back to reclaim the position from. He is the county first political district lawmaker and his control area is in the lower end of the county. A very little is known about him. He seldom speaks publicly. He is regarded as one of the legislators who made a great come back. He was during his first term suspended for hitting his colleague, Bill Corneh of Bong County at the time.

He has also made impacts in the lives of some of the people in his district.

Ivar K Jones

He is serving his second term in office and has made a lot of impacts with key projects in his district. He strongly advocates for the residents of the district and he is a strong voice in the Legislature.

Rep Jones defeated former Representative Ballah G Zayzay with about twelve thousand votes to claim the seat. He is well known both in his district and the county. He contested the 2020 senatorial elections and lost to Nuquay though being backed by CDC. He is affectionately known as ‘Tecno’ and ‘Talk and do’ in his district. He is the first lawmaker to build a notable district office and gave fifty percent (50%) of his salary for his district’s development purposes in Margibi.

He is criticized for prolong speeches and sometimes creating repetitions. He was during his first term of election accused by his critics of being a gay, something he sharply reacted to, distancing himself.

Hence, he got marry in the very recent time disputing the claim of his involvement into gay activities.

He is another man who entered the Legislature from the business background. He owns and operates the Favor Marketing Inc, creating employment opportunities for Liberians in most of the counties. He is the current Chairman of the Margibi County Legislative Caucus.

He is reported to be admired by many of the young politicians of Upper Margibi as he gets criticisms from some of them in the lower end especially in his district as a man who is doing nothing and needs to be replaced.

Ellen A A Wreh

 Representative Ellen A A Wreh now serves her second successive term after being reelected in 2023 by Margibi County District #:3 residents. She was introduced in the dime minutes of 2017 when her husband Prince A Wreh, now Executive Director of the Liberia Special Economy Zone Authority got caught in the web of code of conduct.

He opted to become a representative of the district, he was making the move for the second time after his first trial failed against Kafi. Rep Wreh successfully served the district during her first term making some impacts amongst the women and youth.

She is the only female in the caucus and is considered as the iron lady of Margibi District #: 3. She was honored as the most accessible lawmaker in the county. She served the Co-chair on Ways, Means and Finance Committee of the house of Representatives until the recent fight to remove Speaker Kofa that saw her lost the position.

Her votes in 2023 saw an increment in the number as compared to 2017. She is referred to as the market women’s and baby mothers’ friend because she impacts them in a particular way. She is criticized for sharing cups of rice and cubes in plastic bags during the elections, some say she does not have a house in the district and she is a Ghanaian purporting to be a Liberian.

It is heavily being rumoured that her husband is contemplating on contesting the Senate in Margibi in 2029. This news has met misrections in the public in the county. Some people embrace the idea, many says the county is not a family county for she and her husband. Her giving power is viewed as being low, some people say she is cheap.

Rep Wreh is affectionately referred to as “Our ma” by a lot of Margibians, a member of the Margibi County Legislative Caucus and a strong advocate for women’s rights. She is also noted for engaging issues at the Legislature.

Emmanuel O Yarh

Representative Emmanuel O Yarh heads Margibi County District #: 4 as a first time lawmaker. He is said to have heavily been backed by Senator James Emmanuel Nuquay who gave him political way out to succeed.

He emerged from the business community and got a lot of the key business people’s support during the elections in the district. He is respected as a man who had his own money before assuming the position as a representative.

He is privileged to be the secretary general of the county legislative caucus. He now has most of his key supporters breaking ties with him, accusing him of changing from whom they know and what they expect of him.

He became the first lawmaker to purchase a yellow machine for his district in the county. Hence, he soon got to be accused and lambasted for commercializing the machine.

One criticism against him is that he is not intellectually inclined and it is also reported that he is a man involved with ‘black deeds’ engagements. He seldom speaks and he is not known to be a controversial person in the public, mainly in the media landscape. He is rumoured to be a man who also have a very low giving power in the caucus.

Clarence G Gahr

He was reelected during the 2023 elections that was very tense in Margibi County District #:5 with a lot of candidates. He is not always in the media and does not easily respond or react to things. He has a good human relationship but does not withdrawal from a fight.

He was criticized for doing nothing and abandoning his district during his first term of office, something that prompted a lot of people to contest the representative seat but yet, he defeated them. During the campaign, he pointed to a series of projects undertaken by him and he tried to clarify the accusations of abandonment and doing nothing in his district.

He is also lambasted in his district for promising a yellow machine which he has not delivered yet but he has been in some gatherings showing genuine court documents against individuals he took to court for undermining the machine process which he paid some money toward. During the 2023 campaign, he bought a lot of yellow motorbikes for his supporters, some of the folks in the district described them as yellow machines.

He is rumoured to be a man who does not take advice and that he is too authoritative but he says these things are said by people who don’t know the truth about him and don’t also care to know him for themselves.

He is the youngest in the county caucus and now one of the most powerful lawmakers at the Legislature. He also remains the representative with the highest authority amongst the five representatives in the county. He is the chairman on the public account committee at the level of the House of Representatives and the joint Public Account Committee Chair of the Legislature.

He recently led a majority of the lawmakers before Rep Thomas Fallah crossed over to join them in the struggle to remove Speaker Kofa. He was expected by many to contest the speakership or deputy speakership or go to the Ways, Means and Finance Committee but he did not make any of the moves. He was also very instrumental in making sure that Kofa wins the speakership.

He is considered a major decision maker and an influential representative under the speakership of Rep Richard Nagbe Koon, mainly at the Legislature. He is praised by a lot of people for rendering a lot of assistances to people.

He is noted for thinking and doing big things but he takes a long time to plan and implement so many says he is a slow person. Rep Gahr is regarded by a lot of young people in the county for his association. He worked and earned his own money before ascending to the position. He is recorded in the history of the district as the Ebola Hero. He is a member of the caucus.

The Relationship Of The Margibi County Legislative Caucus

Now in the county, the caucus is said to be divided into two factions, including the Nuquay’s faction and the McGill’s faction.

Representatives Ellen A A Wreh and Roland O Cooper as well as Senator Nathaniel McGill are reportedly on one side while Representatives Emmanuel O Yarh, Clarence G Gahr, Ivar K Jones and Senator Emmanuel Nuquay are in one accord. Since the 55th, they have not been observed involed into controversies with each other in the county. It signals that they have a good working relationship.

Conclusion

This article is meant to give some information about the current Margibi County Legislative Caucus, to know some of the things that are said about them who they are and what people think about them. Their brief leadership history leading to the caucus. Some of the information about them in this piece could be contested against and some are clear facts but as observers and checkers of our society, we hear and see a lot of things from people about them. Some of the same people may not be telling them these things or showing them out when they have the opportunty to sit with them one on one. Meet the Margibi County Legislative Caucus.

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