‘Legal Advisor Is Wrongly Advising The President’ -EFFL Claims

139

The Economic Freedom Fighter of Liberia has added its voice to the argument that is ongoing about the tenured positions that President Boakai is appointing individuals to. The EFFL in a press statement, stated that it is recommending to President Boakai that he should add this clause through legislation to the act that established tenured positions instead of eliminating them as recommended by his legal advisor. The EFFL further stated, that the legal advisor to the President  is wrongly advising the President and such advice could damage the president’s hard-earned international credentials on rule of Law and transparency in public service.

EFFL FULL PRESS RELEASE BELOW:

Fellow citizens, over the last few days, we have witnessed constitutional debate about President Boakai’s decision to appoint people in positions of tenure, and the CDC is rejecting the constitutionality of the President’s decision. Even the least political minds know that the CDC lacks the morals to question the president’s constitutional obligation to the state of Liberia regarding the rule of law. The regime of the CDC was lawless, immature, and out of the scope of governance. The purpose of the laws that established those entities was to grant tenured government officials more independence by removing political influence from their decision-making processes. However, they chose to go against the original intentions of these sculptures by becoming involved in political campaigns due to their avarice, desire for wealth, and immaturity as tenure officials. They were more conscious of George Weah as president than patriotic toward Liberia. The truth is that the code of conduct has served no purpose since it was created by the Madam Sirleaf-led UP government. Officials of the legislature took advantage of Madam Sirleaf’s political choice to forbid certain officials of the executive branch from running for elected office, and as a result, she decided to keep such evil intentions against fellow citizens by designing the act that served as an instrument for the watch hunt called the Code of Conduct.

During elections, it’s no secret that members of the Executive usually out spent members of the legislature. The spending power is within the executive. The creation of the COC from a more practical governance perspective is good, but it’s a document meant for politics in Liberia. Since then, the Code of Conduct has evolved into a political and situational statute that has no bearing on national governance in reality. The EFFL sued George Weah administration last year, alleging that he had broken the Code of Conduct by issuing a writ of prohibition through our legal team. The case has not yet resulted in a decision from the Supreme Court. Despite the EFFL’s writ of prohibition being related to the 2023 elections that needed quick answer,  the Supreme Court did not take any action, turning it into a political chamber rather than the last arbiter of justice. Every attorney that provided a commentary on the EFFL vs. Government of Liberia case before the Supreme Court agreed with our legal positions. CDC loser talkers these days want to discuss the rule of law and even bring up the COC, which they briefly disregarded to accommodate President George Weah feelings over national interest. Accordingly, the  EFFL, is recommending to  President Boakai that he should add this clause through legislation to the act that established tenure positions instead of eliminating them as recommended by his legal advisor. The legal advisor is wrongly advising the President and such advice could damage the president’s hard-earned international credentials on rule of Law and transparency in public service.  Our international partners funded through the Governance Commission the creation of some of these acts. We can’t disrespect their tax-payers money in such a disrespectful manner.  Though we acknowledge the legal missteps affecting some of the tenure positions, we can work with the National Bad Association and the Law Reform Commission to fix them for current-day reality.  Article 54 of the Constitution states unequivocally that the President has the final say over all nominated officials in the Executive Branch because they work at his or her will. Therefore, tenure for all positions should be limited to three years, with the possibility of renewal. People from one presidential administration will not be able to serve in the next administration if the president of that administration is defeated in a democratic election.  The amendments should also specify that all individuals holding tenure positions immediately lose legitimacy in the event that the administration they are serving is defeated in democratic elections, just like the outgoing president does to prevent any demand for compensation. However, the incoming president may reassign those positions same people in accordance with their constitutional rights base on the choice of the President. It is not possible for the constitution to provide that individuals appointed by the president serve at his or her discretion while simultaneously passing legislation restricting the president’s authority. We advise the President of Liberia to dismiss those holding tenure positions promptly and without compensation, given that they have voluntarily violated the morality and legal interests of the statutes that established the various tenure positions. They made up for it by quitting their jobs to campaign, and such a decision created economic and security risks for our people. The punishment for betraying the state is the removal of office. Additionally, we suggest completely changing the code of conduct, and we offer the president’s office the assistance of our legal experts in crafting a realistic change. As of right now, the COC has no bearing on our National Governance and is merely a political and situational document. We support the president’s decision to remove from office tenure officials who campaign for George Weah reelection. They selected the President over the collective interest of the Liberian state. Monrovia Latest News

Comments are closed.