By Lincoln G. Peters
Dismissed Post and Telecommunications Minister Cllr. Coope A. Kruah says he will speak on his removal from President George Manneh Weah’s cabinet if he settles down subsequently.
“I can’t speak more than what they say now. The Executive Mansion posted my dismissal letter even though they didn’t state [the] reason for my dismissal,” Cllr. Kruah told reporters Thursday, 4 May 2023 in Monrovia.
“However, because I am trying to get myself adjusted out of the office when I am settled, I might call a press conference and speak. I am not prepared for that now,” he added.
President Weah sacked Cllr. Kruah this week as Post and Telecommunication Minister after the latter attended an opposition event organized by the former ruling Unity Party (UP).
It was the occasion when Mr. Weah’s main rival, UP standard bearer, and former Liberian vice president Amb. Joseph Nyumah named Nimba County Senator Jeremiah Koung as his running mate for the 2023 presidential and legislative elections.
Cllr. Kruah chairs Senator Koung’s party, the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) which was founded by his kinsman Senator Prince Y. Johnson.
In 2017, Senator Johnson backed Weah’s presidential bid and helped him win the election against Amb. Boakai.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]
But nearing the 2023 presidential election, things changed suddenly between Weah and Johnson, and the latter has encouraged his MDR party, his followers, and supporters from vote-rich Nimba to support Amb. Boakai this time.
Former Minister Kruah’s presence at the opposition program angered Mr. Weah and his loyalists, apparently because he is an appointee within the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) regime.
He said he will speak to the press about his dismissal from the government when he finally removes his belongings from his former office.
“[As] I said, when I am settled to talk, I will call a press conference and speak,” Cllr. Kruah stated.
“Whatever the Executive Mansion release said is what I was relieved for. The Executive Mansion release stated that I was relieved from my post.”
“However, the only thing they did not say is that they never state the reason for my dismissal. But, newspapers had been saying it was because I attended opposition Unity Party standard bearer Joseph N. Boakia’s naming ceremony of Senator Jeremiah Kpan Kooung,” Cllr. Kruah explained.
He said this is the debate he has heard so far.
Asked if attending an opposition rally was against his Term of Reference (TOR), Cllr. Kruah said all he can explain is that the Executive Mansion posted his dismissal and he can’t give any reason beyond that.
Asked further to clarify if he is using his assigned government vehicle, the dismissed Minister said he will speak to all that when he is settled.
He told reporters that he was at the Temple of Justice to make some assignments for his cases which are pending.
