The political brawl between two constituent leaders of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) is far from over, as both Ambassador Joseph Nyumah Boakai and Mr. Alexander B. Cummings appear not willing to sit together in a room or see eye to eye.
Prior to, and even after the ascendency of Boakai to the CPP chairmanship, the leaders are still wrangling over mode for attending National Advisory Council (NAC) meetings, one of which failed in October due to the absence of Mr. Alexander Cummings.
Both men are fighting to become standard bearer of the CPP ahead of 2023, though convention is still pending.
The personality contest is becoming nastier by the day, leaving supporters of the Collaboration that is comprised of four opposition parties confused and disgusted, as both sides use social media and other platforms to attack each other.
In separate communications here, Mr. Boakai and Mr. Cummings engaged in blame games, as usual, for all that is unfolding.
A leaked communication from Cummings, who is the political leader of the Alternative National Congress, accuses Boakai of belatedly treating him to a purported CPP Release, under his (Boakai’s) signature as Chairman, which provided the public with deliberate misinformation as to why the NAC could not be convened.
He says that the ANC had been hopeful that, upon Boakai’s assumption of the chairmanship of the CPP and based on his promise to reconcile the Collaboration, he would cure the disunity and distrust that has rocked its foundation.
“Surprisingly, your press release on the postponement of the National Advisory Committee (NAC) meeting leaves much to be desired, and rather than rebuild trust, appears to deepen the distrust”, he points out.
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Mr. Cummings recounts that upon receiving a proposal from Boakai on Wednesday, October 27, 2021, for a meeting of the NAC on October 29, 2021, he wrote, requesting for an agenda after not receiving one as was promised.
He notes that having eventually received one, the ANC responded and requested a postponement of the meeting because of the delay in the submission of the agenda, saying the request was based on inadequate timing to enable a meeting of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) to discuss the proposed agenda and to receive a copy of the previously requested letter sent to the team of lawyers so that context is provided to discuss the lawyers’ response, which had been included as an agenda item.
“Accordingly, we were hopeful that matters of the NAC, and between ourselves, unlike the recent past, would be kept in the NAC Chatroom, and among ourselves.”
But the ANC leader says this hope was short-lived, as for reasons that can only further deepen the prevailing distrust, and without even respecting his earlier request with a deserved response, Chairman Boakai issued a release, which provided the public with deliberate misinformation as to why the NAC could not be convened.
“With no mention of your delay in the submission of an agenda, and therefore our request, amongst others, for a postponement, you proceeded to portray the ANC and me as being responsible for the inability of the NAC to convene. This, Mr. Chairman, is a bad start and an unfortunate beginning to your tenure. Many had hoped for a difference”, he argues.
He says the ANC and personally himself, have already endured an inordinate abuse of the Office of Chair, during the previous CPP leadership, targeting them for undeserved misinformation and public vilification, adding “Our hope was that with your call for reconciliation, and the assurance of your leadership experiences, these abuses would have ended, and the public would begin to see the CPP return to behaving honorably so as to rebuild needed trust in the ranks of its constituent membership.”
But in a press release dated October 29, 2021, Boakai said the scheduled National Advisory Council meeting held at the CPP headquarters in Congo Town was attended by the political leaders of the Liberty Party and the All Liberian Party, along with other members of the NAC from those two constituent parties and the Unity Party.
“Regrettably, there was absolutely no representation from the Alternative National Congress (ANC) at the NAC meeting”, he said and noted that in keeping with the rules governing meetings of the CPP, every party must have at least a representation at every called meeting of the NAC and any other governing structure of the CPP.
He said consequently, cardinal issues relating to the strengthening of the CPP and decision about the amicable resolution of issues of the Framework Document could not be discussed, but hoped the ANC will be fully represented at the next meeting of the NAC and other governing structures of the CPP. https://thenewdawnliberia.com/unity-party-chair-modad-writes-cummings/Story by Jonathan Browne
