Unresolved Speakership Crisis: Does UP Want Peace?

“We will continue to work with the quorum that will ensure the full functioning of our government,” President Joseph Nyuma Boakai told Liberians on April 24, 2025.

This statement was in direct response to the Supreme Court ruling in the Bill of Information filed by embattled Speaker J. Fonati Koffa against his forceful removal by the House Majority Bloc headed by Representative Richard Nagbe Koon.

The Supreme Court ruled that every action taken by the Koon imposed speakership was illegal, and that Koffa remains the legitimate Speaker of the 55th House of Representatives under the Boakai-led government.

Immediately following the Highest Court ruling, Koon on behalf the Majority Bloc rejected the court’s judgment thus indicating that the leadership crisis at the Lower House still remains unresolved.

“Let me be clear: under my leadership, the government of Liberia will not be held hostage by narrow interests or acts of lawlessness. The work of government will continue, and nothing will distract our duty to serve the Liberian people,” President Boakai has vowed.

However, he acknowledged what he called growing concern as the division in the House of Representatives remained unresolved, undermining public confidence in one of Liberia’s most vital democratic institutions.

While President Boakai has declared backing for a quorum to work with at the House of Representatives, he indicated rallying the support of ‘relevant stakeholders to determine the most appropriate and constitutionally sound path forward.’

However, there appears to be growing denouncement and resentment against President Boakai’s response to the court’s ruling in the House’s crisis. Critics have swiftly surmised that President Boakai; by his pronouncement, is supporting the Majority Bloc in defiance of the Supreme Court opinion which legitimized Koffa as Speaker of the 55th House of Representatives.

Opposition political parties in Liberia have also blasted President Boakai, demanding him to respect the court ruling; or they will take mass action in protest against the government for undermining the rule of law.

Up to this junction of the House’s saga, fingers continue to be pointed at the Governing Unity Party for allegedly supporting the Koon-led bloc to produce a UP speaker to spearhead the current House of Representatives. Critics have consistently claimed that finances reportedly used by the House Majority Bloc in their leadership crisis have come from designated government institutions upon the order of higher-ups, though the accused have continued to sharply refute claims against the Executive to fuel the unresolved crisis at the Lower House.

Meanwhile, following the Supreme Court ruling in favor of embattled Speaker Koffa, hell broke loose at the Capitol Building, when Koon’s speakership photos were violently brought down reportedly by some members of Koffa’s Minority Bloc.

There have also emerged reports that hastily, the leadership of the Majority Bloc reassembled at the RLJ Resort to reposition and continue their leadership battle. Yet, reports further indicate that some members of the Majority Bloc, following the court ruling, have decided to join the Minority Bloc to  honor the rule of law. Head counts at RLJ suggest that 21 names reflected those present at the time.

With the latest rule of law vs politics unfolding in Liberia, there seems to be recollection of past standoffs that put the masses against the regimes of Tolbert, Doe and Taylor when violations of the rule of law ignited rebellions in the country.   

Boakia, Koffa, Koon, Masses