The lavishness displayed by the Assistant Minister of State for Logistics, J. Emmanuel Potter in his live Facebook podcast after gifting his wife an Audi Q7 car has angred Liberia’s ruling party youth league and called for immediate investigation into his earnings.
Minister Potter was also seen popping champagne the new vehicle to wish his happy birthday in the same podcast.
Audi Q7 is a midsize luxurious SUV that cost about US$54,500 minimum
The Youth League is also appalled by the luxurious cuisine also displayed by the Commissioner of the Liberia Maritime Authority, Lenn Eugene Nagbe. In the view of the youth of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), such show of opulence on social media by government officials amid vivid poverty and hunger among the masses portrays insensitivity to the plights of the people.
“The Revolutionary National Youth League of the Mighty Coalition for Democratic Change (RNYL-CDC) condemns in its stoutest term the reckless display of wealth on the part of Assistant Minister J. Emmanuel Potter. The action of Emmanuel Potter who couldn’t afford a 2,500 USD vehicle years back will in less than three years be displaying and popping champagne over a luxurious Audi Q7 vehicle,” said Hassan Newland, Assistant Secretary of CDC Youth League.
Speaking to journalists at the CDC Headquarters in Congo Town on Saturday Newland said the Youth League does not have any interest in how the minister spends his salary but wants to remind him that the CDC’s government is a government that is intended to uplift the lives of the ordinary masses, which, according to him, is the essence of the Pro Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development.
“The essence of the Pro-poor Agenda is to alleviate the vast majority of our people from the poverty line to an appreciable living standard but not to enrich an individual to the detriment of our people,” Newland says.
Newland emphasized that the Youth League sees these actions as a flagrant disrespect to the Liberian people and a complete contradiction to the philosophy and ideology of the mighty CDC.
According to the ruling party youth, while hospitals are challenged and the healthcare system is under attack, to have an Assistant Minister who reportedly earns around 2,000 USD parading with a vehicle with such a high cash value, to the point of insultingly pouring champagne on it, is unfortunate.
“The Revolutionary National Youth League – CDC wants to ask the President and standard-bearer of the CDC to investigate Mr. Potter’s display of such affluence which we think is at the peril of the ordinary people. We need said investigation to be conducted as we strive to live within the confines of the Pro-Poor Agenda. We hope that said move would serve as a deterrent for a would-be agent provocateur,” Newland said.
Mr. Potter declined to comment when contacted by FrontPage Africa for comments on his condemnation by the Youth League for their call to have him investigated.
‘sheer Arrogance’
At the same time, the ruling party’s youth have condemned Commissioner Nagbe for showing extravagance on social media. In the view of the CDC Youth, such is a show of sheer arrogance and disrespect to the ordinary Liberians who cannot afford ordinary meal.
“It bewilders us that people like Eugene Nagbe and Emmanuel Potter will engage in extravagance while the masses of our people still struggle for better living conditions. The actions of both individuals undermine the sense of belonging that we envisage for our people as a grassroots movement,” he said.
Newland added: “We call on all our partisans and well-wishers to remain focus and not succumb to the reckless display of overnight luxury on the part of Mr. Potter and Mr. Nagbe who have betrayed the essence of the Pro-poor Agenda and engage themselves into a flamboyant lifestyle which is an utter provocation and irresponsible.”
