‘Don’t accept this bad apple’ 

By Kruah Thompson 

Montserrado County Electoral District #17 residents are rallying potential voters in Grand Cape Mount County to reject Rep. Hanson Kiazolu’s bid to flee Montserrado to contest a senatorial seat in the western county.

The Mohammed Sesay Intellectual Forum in the Red Hill Field Community, Montserrado Electoral District #17, is leading the campaign.

The group has described Rep. Kiazolu as a bad apple, threatening to rally against his representative bid in Montserrado, Grand Cape Mount County, and beyond.

In his official induction remark over the weekend, Mr. Momo K. Blama, chairman of the Mohammed Sesey Intellectual Forum accused Rep. Kiazolu of allegedly paying the district with insincerity and bad representation at the Legislature.

“Today we have a missing lawmaker who has paid us with insincerity and bad representation. This runaway lawmaker had gone to Grand Cape Mount County to contest for the senatorial position this year,” said Mr. Blama. 

As chairman of the intellectual forum, Blama said he will send out a clear message to the people of Grand Cape Mount County and the rest of the 14 Counties not to harvest this bad apple that is germinating for the public’s consumption. 

“We will also engage the people of this district, most especially the youth to vote wisely and not repeat the nightmare of 2017 that led to the election of Mr. Hassan Kiazolu,” Blama stated.

On Saturday, the Mohamed Sesay Intellectual Forum inducted into office its new leaders to steer the affairs of the institution for the next two years. 

The induction ceremony followed an election held in February this year in keeping with the institution’s bylaws and constitution which provide for an election of new corps of officers once in two years.

Several representative aspirants graced the induction ceremony. Dr. Jeremiah Z. Whapoe, political leader of the opposition Vision for Liberia Transformation Party (VOLT), delivered the keynote address.

Those inducted into office are Mr. Momo K. Blama; Chairman, Ms. Elisha Jebbeh Momo, Co-Chair; Mr. Aaron Tengbeh, Secretary General; and Mr. Abraham Yarsiah, Financial Secretary.

Chairman Blama assured that his leadership will demonstrate tolerance and ideas for all, adding that they are willing and ready to work with all defeated candidates to move the institution forward.

“First I simply want to say thank you. Thank you all, I am deeply gratified by the trust you have placed in me and I will never forget that it is you, the Mohammed Sesay Intellectual Forum whom I serve,” Blama said. 

He vowed to maintain the doctrine and principles of the intellectual forum which focus on discipline, self-reliance, and intellectualism.

In reaction to the claims levied by the intellectual forum, Rep. Kiazolu told this paper in a telephone conversation Tuesday, 11 April 2023 that claims were baseless.

He denied the allegations saying they were misleading, noting that the newly elected chairmen has been his major critic throughout the 2017 election and beyond. Kiazolu said he defeated Blama’s representative candidate, Mr. Abraham Sesay.

He further said the allegation from the chairman is not new to him, because he has been attacked on many occasions.

“These are people that are not in the interest of the district, what more do you want me to do? This is the district that never had electricity and one of its major and traditional roads was so deplorable, but I negotiated with the government and now electricity has crossed and the Gbanja road has been paved,” Kiazolu argued.

He noted that the people of the district are enjoying those utilities.