Partisans protest Coalition

On Friday morning the headquarters of the former ruling National Patriotic Party of convicted former President Charles Taylor was the scene of violence protest from some individuals claiming to be partisans of the NPP, under the banner, “Concerned Partisans of NPP”.

The individuals stormed the headquarters of the NPP in violence mood, something which prompted security guards on duty to resort to taking up cutlasses, stakes and other available weapons to prevent the protesters from entering the compound of the NPP’s headquarters.

They were under the directive of ex- Commander of the disbanded Special Operation Division or SOD of the Liberia National Police during the regime of ex-President Charles Taylor, YekehKolubah said that NPP joining the coalition was not discussed by the executive members of the NPP.

He added that in the absence of such, the merger deal is illegal and that it does not represent the full reflective view of the partisans of the NPP. Kolubah demanded that Senator Jewel Howard Taylor, Chairman James Biney and the Treasury Rudolph Cooper unconditionally discontinue further negotiation with the coalition and return to the party by December of this year or they will face wrath of disgruntled partisans.

The rough interaction among partisans led to exchanges of insults, something which created a total chaos at the NPP’s headquarters Friday morning. Earlier, the National Secretary General, Mr. Peter Andrews had told reporters who had gathered to cover the unfolding at the party Headquarters to leave the premises and the entire terrain where the party’s headquarters is situated or the party will not be responsible if anything unusual were to occur.

Mr. Andrews than made a telephone call to an individual believed to be a security officer to clear the compound of the headquarters unconditionally. But before the arrival of the would be security officer, Kolubah and his group had gathered at the entrance of the headquarters, though they were violently resisted from entering the building, they managed to converge before the entrance from where they addressed the media in hustle disposition.

“We who stood against past leaders for running our party as a ‘plastic bag’ entity, we have assembled again against Mr. Biney and Sen. Jewel Taylor who are taking our party in their suitcases to sell from one place to another in the name of merger without first consulting with party leaders. Our position is clear. We are demanding that the appropriate thing to be done first within our party. We must be aware before our party can engage into any national action,” the statement said.

According to them, coalition is good among opposition political parties and they support such effort. However, they said, it becomes better when partisans of each party going into such arrangement are properly informed.

The group of protesters condemns the action terming it as “self-seeking interest and so-called executives who decided to single- handedly sell our party to what we are not informed about. The interest of our party and our partisans must be protected and not the interest of a greedy few who want power for themselves at the disadvantage of our people,” the statement added.
But the National Treasurer of the NPP, Mr. Rudolph Cooper said that Mr. Kolubah is not a partisan of the NPP.

He pointed out that Kolubah contested as independent candidate in the 2011 Presidential and Legislative elections, making it clear that he had no relationship with the NPP and his action is to create disorderliness at the party’s headquarters.

But also speaking against the coalition was Rev. Hananiah Zoe one of the aspirants of the NPP standard bearership. Rev. Zoe has predicted that the coalition is doom to crumble on grounds that the Standard Bearer Jewel Howard Taylor, Chairman James Biney and some officials of the NPP did not consult entirely before taking the party to a coalition.

Commenting on Rev. Zoe assertion, Cooper explained that it is surprising that Rev. Zoe to make such statement because Rev. Zoe along with Ambassador Milton Nathaniel Barnes and Senator Jewel Howard Taylor are members of the governing coalition council.

By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor