By Lewis S. Teh
Senate Prince Yormie Johnson (PYJ) blames his candidate’s defeat in the Nimba County District#1 by-election on deception in the ruling CDC chapter in the county, threatening to submit names of those alleged to President Weah for dismissal.
“I will meet the President and McGill [Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Nathaniel Farlo McGill] and submit the names of those CDC officials who are working in the county, yet still chose to betray the party”, he says here hours after results of Tuesday’s by-election in Nimba put Independent Candidate Samuel Brown ahead of the poll.
“I will make sure they are dismissed, any attempt for them to refuse to listen to my decision, I will wash my hands from the CDC, because we don’t want this to continue, we have a crucial election coming and these people could cause us more harm”, PYJ expresses.
Speaking to Spoon Talk, a live broadcast via mobile late Tuesday following the release of provisional results from the by-election in Nimba County, the man the United States Government described as a notorious warlord maintains that he still remains the political godfather of Nimba despite his candidate losing to Independent Candidate Samuel Brown in Tuesday’s district#1 by-election in the county.
According to him, Professor Marwiah’s defeat in the by-election was due to deception in the hierarchy of officials of the ruling CDC in the county, alleging that there are officials in the CDC government who are betraying the party and working against the party underground.
He claims that Candidate Samuel Brown, currently topping the poll is his first cousin.
“I could not support him; I told him this six months to the election, and instead, endorsed Prof. Francis Marwiah, who’s from the Mano tribe. During the campaign I went to all the towns in that district, and the people told me that they will vote for me in 2023, but as for the by-election, they couldn’t betray Samuel Brown, and what I saw for myself made me wash my hands and told them to go ahead with their decision,” narrates the two-times presidential candidate and kingmaker.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]
“Look, I’m telling you that I still remain the political godfather of Nimba County, I am still being loved by my people, but for today’s election, there will have to be respected”, the ex-rebel leader-evangelist-turned politician concedes.
“Look, today’s election is just a district election, and this result has nothing to worry about, for as far I’m concern nobody in Nimba can defeat me, it bothers me because when you support somebody in a contest and didn’t get the expected result you feel bad, but that’s the will of our people and it has to be respected.”
He blames himself for the dismal outcome, saying “It’s my fault, I should have investigated my candidate’s relationship with the people rather than just support him.”
When asked whether he still commands influence over the people of Nimba, he says it was unfortunate for people to think that he has lost grip of the county due to the defeat of his candidate, Professor Francis Marwiah, vowing “I will beat any candidate going against me in 2023.”
Senator Johnson, whose Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) party is in bed with President Weah’s governing Coalition for Democratic Change, says the victory of Senator Jeremiah Koung in December 8, 2020, special senatorial election led him to redesign his campaign strategy, saying that “Politics in Nimba is tribal, but one thing I know is that my morale in Nimba is powerful and very still high”
PYJ insists that he remains in touch with his kinsmen in Nimba and they are inseparable, so no one should think his candidate defeat poses threat to his reelection to the senate in 2023.
“The problem here is I wanted a compromising candidate that the people didn’t want, and for choosing a compromising candidate wasn’t enough, I should have studied his background before supporting him, but again, Samuel Brown is a strong candidate that’s why our people elected him.”
Both the governing CDC and the main opposition CPP performed dismally in the by-elections conducted in Bomi, Bong, Nimba, and Grand Gedeh counties, with Independent Candidates taking clear leads, according to provisional results.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/nimba-county-pyj-rallies-for-professor-francis-maweah/ Editing by Jonathan Browne
