By Socrates Smythe Saywon
MONROVIA – Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe, 2023 presidential candidate of the Liberian People’s Party (LPP), on Thursday, August 21, 2025, sharply criticized the absence of President Joseph Boakai and senior government officials during the recent visit of Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, and his high-level Congressional delegation.
In a statement responding to remarks from the Minister of Information defending the government’s actions, Cllr. Gongloe described the absence as “a colossal diplomatic blunder” that undermines the dignity of the Liberian state. “When the President of Liberia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations are all absent during such a critical diplomatic visit, it sends a message to the world that Liberia does not take its international partners seriously,” he said.
Gongloe noted that the Minister of Information, having served as Press Secretary to former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, should be aware that such an absence would have been unthinkable under her leadership. “Protocol, courtesy, and seriousness would have prevented such a blunder under her leadership,” he said.
The LPP standard-bearer stressed that the visit of Senator Reed, as well as the TICAD9 and Expo 2025 events, were planned well in advance, making the absence of the President “inexcusable.” He added that the focus should be on preventing future mistakes rather than attacking critics who speak the truth.
“I was the first presidential candidate in 2023 to lead my party and its supporters to vote for President Boakai against former President Weah. I did so out of patriotism and conviction. That same patriotism obliges me to speak when the government I supported falters,” Cllr. Gongloe said. He emphasized that his criticism is directed not at the President personally, but at governance failures that “embarrass our nation.”
Gongloe further warned that Liberia’s history demonstrates the cost of silence in the face of poor governance. “More than three hundred thousand of our people died because of bad governance that caused a civil conflict, not religious or tribal differences. We must not repeat that path,” he said, adding that truth and accountability are essential to prevent national collapse.
Concluding his statement, Cllr. Gongloe pledged to continue speaking out. “It is far better to acknowledge mistakes and correct them than to rationalize or engage in personal attacks against those who speak out. I will continue to be a truth-teller because truth is what saves nations from collapse,” he asserted.
Like this:
Like Loading…
