New Pro-Temp Extends Olive Branch

The President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate, Armah Jallah, has called for a reconciled senate in order to work in the interest of the Liberian people.

Speaking last weekend in Monrovia, Pro Temp Jallah promised to be a touch-bearer in the reconciliation process, acknowledging that bad feelings are often associated with losses in any electoral process.

He noted that as far he was concerned, there were no losers at the Senate, saying every member of the senate has equal constitutional power, and will be protected in the discharge of his or her duties and functions.

He admonished his colleagues to see him only as the Presiding Officer of the Liberian Senate in the absence of the President of the Senate- Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai, and not a person desperate and greedy for power.

The President Pro Temp’s statement followed last Thursday’s election of heads of statutory committees of the Liberian Senate at which time some members of the Senate walked out of session.

No reasons were given for the ‘cold shoulders’ on the elections given by the Senators, but political pundits believed that their actions were in protest against the election of Senators elected to form the leadership of the Senate. Those elected as Chairmen of the Statutory Committees voted Senator Jallah as President Pro Tempore of the Liberian Senate.

Meanwhile, Vice President Joseph Boakai has urged members of the Liberian Senate to unite, emphasizing that disunity in the Senate will only stall the work for which they were exerted. He also told them that the election for the position of President Pro Temp was over, saying what matters most was for members of the Senate to  concentrate on the bills in committee rooms.

V.P Boakai spoke last Friday at an appreciation dinner in honor of the new President Pro Tempore of the Liberian Senate at the Luyken Guest House in Congo Town, outside Monrovia.

By Rewina Juduh