Cummings denies bribing Boakai US$6m to back-off
By Lincoln G. Peters
Liberia: Opposition Alternative National Congress (ANC) political leader Alexander B. Cummings has denied the claim that he gave Unity Party standard-bearer Amb. Joseph Nyumah Boakai US$6 million for the latter to abandon his plan to head the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) presidential ticket in the coming 2023 presidential and legislative elections.
“Listen to me, I do not do pay for play and all that stuff and never have I, and never will I do it in my political life. So it’s completely untrue, false and misleading that I tried bribing the former VP Boakai,” Cummings told local broadcaster OK FM recently.
Cummings and Boakai, who chairs the CPP, are the two opposition political leaders seeking to head the CPP presidential ticket as the opposition bloc has long been seen as a strong force to battle the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) in the 2023 elections.
CPP has had major victories in past legislative elections, but it has begun disintegrating ahead of the presidential election due in 2023.
Cummings terms as a complete false, untrue and misleading, the claim that he gave Amb. Boakai the money so that the Liberian former Vice President can once more stand as a vice presidential candidate, this time to the ANC political leader.
Cummings told the OK FM conversation that at no time did he hold such discussion with former Vice President Boakai, calling on him to back – off.
“When you earn your money legitimately like I have for many years, you don’t spend it stupidly, and you don’t throw it around,” Mr. Cummings argued.
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Mr. Cummings admitted that he met the Unity Party standard – bearer recently in Ghana to discuss problems within the CPP, but he trashed the claim that he asked Mr. Boakai to accept US$6 million and pull out of the race for the CPP presidential ticket.
“The reality is there are two contenders of the CPP ticket and its VP Boakai and I. There are four possible outcomes for the CPP process, I agree to support the VP and step aside or the VP agrees to support me and step aside,” Cummings explained.
“The last alternative is, he agrees to be my Vice President we go together or I agree to be his Vice President and we go together and nothing wrong having conversation around those options. But if some see it as bribing the VP to step aside, it’s up to them,” Mr. Cummings noted.
Mr. Cummings insisted that he would support anybody who becomes victorious to head the CPP ticket in 2023, stating that he is not ambitious to head the CPP ticket, as many think of him.
He noted that his decision to contest for the presidency is to end the culture of impunity, change the system for the better and see the country move in the right direction.
In a related development, Cummings has described the All Liberian Party (ALP) political leader Mr. Benoni Urey as a warlord.
Mr. Cummings and Mr. Urey are both heading two political parties – ANC and ALP – which have until now, been constituent parties of the CPP.
But Urey has announced he is pulling out his ALP, and has further taken Mr. Cummings to court on charges of forgery and criminal facilitation.
Urey accuses Cummings of allegedly tampering with the CPP framework agreement and attaching his (Urey’s) signature to a photocopy version purported to be the version approved by all the parties in the CPP.
However Mr. Cummings has denied the charges, saying he is very clean, transparent and has integrity.
He said the charges levied by Mr. Urey and his party are only intended to damage his (Cummings’) character and make people feel that he is one of them.
But Cummings insisted that their plans will not work and they are fighting a losing battle.
” Mr. Urey is a war lord that is on the sanction list of the UN report … brought guns in this country, killed innocent people and corrupted our country because he stole a lot from this country,” said Mr. Cummings.
“He is also responsible for the poverty and suffering in this country that we have come to restore because they damaged the foundation of this country,” he added.
Cummings noted that he can’t be like Urey and everyone knows, so Urey is allegedly fighting a losing battle.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/cummings-hints-cpp-exit-i-will-contest-alone/
