As the political battle slowly gets into motion, former Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai has chosen Nimba County Senator Jeremiah Koung as his running mate for the October 10 elections.
The announcement of Senator Koung was made Friday, April 28, 2023, at the Unity Party Headquarters in Monrovia.
Making the announcement, the former Vice President said he sees in Senator Koung someone who will be a partner to build a dedicated team of leaders to rescue the country.
The Unity Party Standard Bearer said Senator Koung’s age relates to the younger generation, noting that Koung a two-time former Representative connects with a generation whose denial and abuse have rendered them helpless and without hope but he did not allow the challenges of his youth to defy his ambition.
“With every challenge he sought to discover the immense possibilities that our country could offer. His early childhood was difficult but he endured selling fish at 12, gasoline, and engaging in petty business but eventually rose to the heights of a leading Liberian Businessman in thriving Ganta, Nimba County Boakai said of his running mate.
Senator Koung’s gains from the private business were invested in building a hospital valued at 2.5 million United States dollars which was later turned over to the Government of Liberia without any liability. This is the only government-owned hospital now in Ganta. I dedicated it and gave some medical supplies at the dedication in 2016. His endurance and success in business will stimulate added interest and commitment to improving Liberia’s struggling indigenous business environment” Boakai said of his running mate.
Boakai also a former Minister of Agriculture told thousands of Partisans and well-wishers that he and his running mate will not only win the 2023 elections but intend to redirect what “tragic course’’ on which the country is now set.
He said that both he and Senator Koung have a lot in common, indicating that they both got themselves out of difficult life situations and demonstrated how courage and vision can lead to success even where misfortune was obvious.
VP Boakai said Senator Koung like him, has the resilience, commitment and love of the country, a true Liberian willing to stand with him in fixing the economy, repair the broken system, reconcile and unite Liberians and provide a better future for next-generation.
He indicated that he didn’t seek a sinless angel as a running mate, but was assured that person understands the suffering of the people and is willing to rescue them.
State of the country
The former Vice President said under the Weah’s administration, Liberia has entered its lowest state; branded by the degradation of Liberia’s value system, extraordinary economic hardship, devalued and downhearted civil servants, and an upward trend in rewarding political patronage, a practice that has totally weakened the merit-based system.
VP Boakai also indicated that since 2018, the Weah’s government has provided a horrible leadership where stealing in government with impunity by officials has become an acceptable norm, violations of the country’s organic laws are no longer punishable, noting that the government is killing Liberians robbing young people of a future of hope and promise.
“Our mission will seek to reform the Presidency and develop a new leadership team to effectively manage our country with integrity, honesty, and respect for human dignity,” Boakai said
The former Liberian Vice President noted that Liberia is not a poor country, but the persistent problem of the country is prompted by greed and the lack of sound and honest leadership.
Koung accepts nomination
Accepting his nomination, Nimba County Senator Jeremiah Koung said he has observed that many Liberians are supporting change because they can’t afford another six years, of division, hate, and backwardness under President Weah.
“You anxiously look forward to a future of hope and promise. You want government to work for you. You want government to be accountable and honest and you want government to protect you and your family. Many families continue to cry out for justice without any ear to listen. We want to be a government that listens and dispense justice without favor”.
Senator Koung said Liberians have painfully watched more than five wasted years of a government that has no vision, and that has imposed and distributed poverty while the President and his officials increase personal wealth at the expense of the majority, indicating that was time for a new leadership that will take a deliberate and radical stance to reverse the backward direction of our country.
He noted that he and the former Vice President have a history of working hard and that they intend to put the people Liberians to work.
“I have joined Honorable Boakai to make this campaign about ordinary Liberians presenting a plan that will rescue our country. We cannot wait any longer as we painfully watch our youths being decimated by drugs, young girls as pawns of sexual abuse, human trafficking, and illiteracy” he said.
Koung said he was humbled to be selected and wanted to be coached by the former Vice President whose life of integrity and honesty he said is exemplary.
Speaking directly to young people, Koung committed to owing them his best, asserting that his selection is a manifestation of former VP Boakai’s commitment to transitioning national leadership to a youthful generation whose success can be an example to others.
The political debate has started rolling
since Friday, social media has been flooded with mixed reactions. Those who support the former VP see the pick as a good one. They think that Koung can help deliver vote-rich Nimba a county that has become very significant in deciding the presidency of Liberia in recent years.
There are others who think that the Unity Party Standard Bearer made a mistake by picking Koung, a Senator Prince Johnson Loyalist as running mate.
They fear that the ticket will be difficult to be sold intentionally given the recent sanction placed on Senator Johnson whom critics of the Boakai and Koung ticket think will be a de facto Vice President.
Such debate will continue to run until October, but one thing that is clear is the influence of Senator Johnson and his political son Koung in Nimba.
Since the end of the Liberian civil war, Senator Johnson a former warlord has established himself as a sought-after politician in Liberia.
He has won two elections as a Senator while deciding all three post-war Presidential elections. Thanks to a huge population of his kinsmen who have been loyal to him.
In 2005 and 2011 he supported former Nobel Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who defeat former football star George Weah and former special representative to the United Nations Winston Tubman.
In 2017 he supported incumbent President George Weah against the man he now supports former Vice President Joseph Boakai.
His relationship with President Weah has been bitter since Mr. Weah accused him of blackmailing him to get money. Both were involved in a war of words which led to the intervention of the Liberia Council of churches.
For Koung, he has won twice as Representative of district number one which includes the most popular city in Nimba Ganta, and became a senator in 2020 defeating former Superintendent and sister of Presidential hopeful Cllr. Taiwon Gongloe Edith Gongloe-Weh.
