“…Cummings is a political dwarf, whose height has created optical distortion for his untreated cataract,” said Sando.
“If you know you can drink like myself, and love your bottles and cups or glass, you should not be asking an opposition leader what he drank before going on a talk show,” Madam Korkpor.
Deputy Information Minister, Daniel Sando, has sparked a wave of public outrage when he launched a verbal attack on Alexander B. Cummings, political leader of the opposition Alternative National Congress (ANC).
Sando gave the description of Mr. Cummings on Tuesday, October 7, during a regular press briefing in Monrovia.
In what political observers have described as an unprofessional and politically charged outburst, Sando dismissed Mr. Cummings as a “political dwarf” bearing an untreated cataract that has created an optical distortion. He also claimed that Cummings “height has affected his vision.”
“I pity Mr. Cummings, and his handful of followers in an attempt to revive his perishing political ambition. Cummings has resorted to telling lies and outright dishonesty,” Sando said.
He added: “Cummings assertion that nothing has changed since the inception of the Boakai-led government runs contrary to the glaring realities of transformation in various sectors.
Cummings is a political dwarf. Apparently, his height has affected his vision.”
Sando’s comments, made from the official government podium, have drawn widespread condemnation from members of the public, opposition figures, and civil society groups, who view the statement as “demeaning and unbecoming of a government official.”
Critics argue that Mr. Sando remarks represent a “gross misuse of a government communication platform, and question the professionalism, and neutrality of the Information Ministry, which is constitutionally tasked with disseminating official government policies, not engaging in political attacks.
“This kind of language coming from a deputy minister is disgraceful, and beneath the dignity of public service,” said a political analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The Ministry is supposed to communicate government policies, not insults opposition leaders.”
Others have warned that such rhetoric reflects a worrying rise in political intolerance, and personal attacks within the country political discourse; a trend they say, could further polarize the nation, and undermine the spirit of democratic dialogue.
Meanwhile, ANC supporters have condemned Sando’s comments as a “desperate attempt to shift public attention” away from the Boakai Administration mounting economic and governance challenges.
As of press time late last night, neither the Information Ministry nor Mr. Sando had issued an apology or clarification regarding the controversial remarks.
The incident has reignited debate over professional ethics in public communication, and the need for political neutrality among state officials with growing calls on President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to take disciplinary action to preserve the integrity of his administration’s communication machinery.
ANC’s Reaction
In a related development, ANC’s Lawyer Yeakula-Korkpor, has harshly reacted Sando for his statement against the party-political leader.
ANC Vice Chair for Legal Affairs, Moriah Yeakula-Korkpor, a lawyer by profession, has condemned Sando, for “insult-driven politics, and the misused of a government communication platform.”
Madam Korkpor reproach followed comments made by Sando against Mr. Cummings. She considered the statement as “unprofessional and politically immature.”
When she took to her official Facebook page, Madam Korkpor accused Mr. Sando of turning a government institution meant to inform the public into a “cussing ground for political retaliation.”
“Daniel Sando, nobody can beat the whole Ministry of Ma Cuss in cussing. Besides, you’re my big brother, so we’re not in the cussing business. What we will consistently do, is to remind you to stay on the issues,” she wrote.
Madam Korkpor criticized Sando’s verbal attacks against Mr. Cummings, suggesting that Sando’s conduct was an attempt to distract attention from government’s “unfulfilled promises and economic failures.”
“If you know you can drink like myself, and love your black bottle, clear bottle, red cup, blue cup, or glass, you should not be asking an opposition leader what he drank before going on a talk show,” she pointedly remarked.
Madam Korkpor then challenged Sando and the Boakai-led Administration to focus on governance rather than personal attacks.
“Tell us how many jobs the ‘rescue mission’ has created in two years. Why are prices still high even though the government promised economic relief?” she rhetorically questioned.
Her comments have reignited another public debate over the “professionalism and neutrality of the Information Ministry, an institution constitutionally tasked to articulate government policies.