Liberia-Despite a 48-hour ultimatum given to Deputy Speaker Thomas Fallah to join the majority bloc seeking the removal of Speaker J. Fonati Koffa, the Deputy Speaker yesterday defied the mandate from the majority bloc and joined Speaker Koffa in the chamber of the House of Representatives.
Recently, Deputy Speaker Fallah was mandated by the majority bloc to join them in the Joint Chamber of the Legislature where they are conducting sessions. The Deputy Speaker was caught between the scissors as he faces threats from his party-the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) if he joins the rebel lawmakers in the joint chamber, while he also faces serious consequences from the majority bloc if he fails to join them.
But Deputy Speaker Fallah took a bold step yesterday by joining Speaker Koffa for session though they didn’t get quorum to conduct the regular session of the House.
However, the removal of embattled Speaker Koffa intensified yesterday as he lacked a quorum for the second time while the majority bloc held its second session earlier Thursday morning October 24 in the joint chamber. The majority bloc seeking to remove the Speaker were 43 in number and held their well-attended session while 30 lawmakers loyal to Koffa adjourned their session for lack of quorum that could enable them to discuss the Liberia people’s business.
The Koffa removal saga began when the lawmakers accused Speaker Koffa of massive corruption, conflict of interest, and misuse of power under the integrity of the House. Among several other accusations, the majority bloc pointed out the Speaker manipulated the budget allocated for his office during his tenure as Deputy Speaker in the 54 Legislature prior to his hegemony as Speaker of the 55th Legislature.
The lawmakers are calling on the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) to conduct an impartial investigation into the financial transactions during Koffa’s tenure, claiming the discrepancies are a violation of the “Budget Transfer Act of 2008.” They argued that such practices undermine the credibility of the House of Representatives in its efforts to combat corruption.
The 47 lawmakers signing the resolution also accused Koffa of manipulating Liberia’s representation in the ECOWAS Parliament. They claim that on February 7, 2024, Koffa submitted a list of representatives to the 6th Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament without conducting the required election, misleading the regional body.
