Weah is a ‘hustler’
Senator J. Milton Teahjay, a former stalwart of the Congress for Democratic Change or CDC has described his ex-party chief George MannahWeah as a big time hustler, who he said, survives at the expense of other politicians.
Speaking to Legislative Reporters on Monday in the chambers of the Liberian Senate, Teahjay alleged that during the 2011 Presidential and Legislative Elections, Weah then political leader of the Congress for Democratic Change, criminally received US$200,000 from the standard bearer of the Liberty Party, Cllr. Charles Brumskine under the pretense of forming coalition, but in the middle of the deal, the CDC strongman dumped Brumskine.
According to him, Weah with impunity walked away with such huge amount, leaving the Liberty Party in a serious financial deficiency and that Cllr. Brumskine and his party have to struggle to raise additional funds for his campaign.
Teahjay: “At the time, I was a stalwart of the CDC which nobody can challenge, which was of the worse thing I have seen from a political actor. Weah and his CDC are total hustlers. I doubt that the new coalition will work because the Coalition is nothing but group of hustlers especially, on the shoulders of other actors.”
Weah is currently heading a self-styled three-party Coalition of Democratic Change or CDC. The marriage brings his own Cong for Democratic Change, ex-president Charles Taylor’s former ruling National Patriotic Party, and newly formed Liberia People Democratic Party of criminally indicted ousted speaker J. Alex Tyler.
However, Teahjay, who abandoned Weah and his CDC in 2011, and is now a stalwart of President Sirleaf’s ruling Unity Party, pointed out that the coalition entered into by the NPP, LPDP and the CDC is nothing, but money making game for Weah and his collaborators.
The LP-CDC merger collapsed after it was alleged that the Liberty Party reneged on its promise to have provided upfront an amount of $180,000.
However, in separate but similar explanations, each side stated that both Weah and Brumskine could not agree on a leadership formula regarding who should become standard bearer and vice standard bearer, respectively.
Meanwhile, leaders of both political parties have yet to dispute the money allegation. But Brumskine stated that the merger talks collapsed due to dissimilarity of “common values”.
On the deal that brought ex-U.N. envoy Winston Tubman to head the CDC in 2011, it was widely discussed that Counselor Tubman agreed to make available $2 million to fund the CDC campaign. According to sources from the inner circle of the CDC, the deal was sealed with Weah surrendering his party to Tubman, and agreeing to lower his political ambition by becoming Tubman’s running mate.
Cllr. Tubman has since denied any such arrangement or deal, but Weah has not disputed these allegations. Editing by Jonathan Browne
