It’s been a month since members of the House of Representatives broke into Anti-Speaker Fonati Koffa and Pro-Speaker Fonati Koffa groups, with the former opting for the removal of the Speaker. Styled as “majority bloc lawmakers,” the rebel lawmakers, among others, accused Speaker Koffa of engaging in a conflict of interest. They expressed vote of no confidence in the Speaker.
But ever since they announced the coup while Speaker Koffa was out of Liberia, traveling with President Joseph Boakai to Rome, Italy, the rebels have failed to attain a two-thirds majority or 49 of their colleagues from the 73-member House as a quorum to vote Speaker Koffa out.
On the other hand, embattled Speaker Koffa, with just 30 supporters rallying behind him, including Deputy Speaker Thomas Fallah, has been unable to conduct business because of a lack of quorum. He has extended an olive branch to his colleagues on the other side to come and join him, where they will have an opportunity to put forth their grievances for redress, but this offer seems to have landed on deaf ears.
But both sides are digging in, maintaining their separate positions, with neither side willing to give in, not even the Speaker, who is hanging on to legitimacy. However, he cannot pull a quorum to preside over the session.
Report from the Capitol Building says 42 Rebel lawmakers appeared for session on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, in the Joint Chamber in defiance of a prohibition by Supreme Court of Liberia Justice-In-Chamber His Honor, Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, Sr., to halt all activities pending a conference with the entire House.
Amid the impasse, the Liberian people’s business is being held hostage, with neither side being able to obtain a quorum to hold a session. No one knows how long this will drag on indefinitely while activities in the House are paralyzed.
It is even embarrassing to hear that rebel lawmakers allegedly received US$15 000 each to oust Speaker Koffa, promising to collect a balance of US$10,000 each after the job is done. Who is financing the plot against the Speaker is the sixty-one million dollar question that lingers.
Speaker Koffa and his Deputy, Thomas Fallah, hail from the main opposition Congress for Democratic Change, likewise rebel lawmakers seeking his removal. The CDC has not publicly stated that it is behind the rebellion against one of its own.
The 55th Legislature cannot hold the entire country hostage, especially amid news that the Executive branch of government is preparing to submit the draft national budget for 2025 to a divided House. Do Liberians deserve all of this? Absolutely not!
We call on both sides in this current fight to exercise discretion for the country’s and its people’s sake. Liberia is above any personal interest. The nation should not be held down for any egotistic agenda. Lest we should forget, every bill sent to the 55th Legislature derives from the House before it is forwarded to the Liberian Senate for concurrence. But with a divided House, this cannot happen.
