By: H. Richard Fallah
MONROVIA: Liberias current Vice President, Jewel Howard Taylor, has let out to the country a very shocking revelation which pointed to President Weahs support to opposition Senator, Abraham Darius Dillon of the then Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), against his own ruling party candidate, Representative Thomas P. Fallah, during the 2020 Special Senatorial Elections.
Speaking Thursday, May 18, 2023, at the Capitol, the political leader of the National Patriotic Party (NPP), revealed that the Liberian President supports several opposition lawmakers financially, making particular reference to the tough-talking Montserrado County Senator, Abraham Darius Dillon.
The VP statement suggests to many political pundits that the Liberian leader’s alleged financial support to Senator Dillon who has been viewed as the most critical opposition voice while the ruling party had a candidate in the same elections shows a slap in the face and back-stabbing by President Weah to a loyal partisan (Rep. Fallah) of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).
But, responding to the Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor on his official Facebook page, the Montserrado County lawmaker described his former boss’ statement against him as the “Funniest Statement of The Year.”
Senator Dillon: “Vice Pres. Jewel Howard-Taylor told a group of CDCians at the Capitol Building yesterday that Pres. George Weah financially supported Darius Dillon to become Senator of Montserrado County in 2020. And CDCians were clapping when she spewed that out.”
Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor assertion came few hours after several staffers at the National Legislature endorsed the Boakai –Koung`s ticket.
The staffers named salary cut, massive corruption, mysterious deaths and the proliferation of drugs abuse as some of the reasons they are turning away from the CDC-led government.
The staffers, celebrating Senator Karnga-Lawrence as the ‘true Rescue Mother’, said they were inspired by her “selfless decision” in endorsing the UP and pledged their commitment to rally all Liberians including their families and friends to join the ‘mission to rescue Liberia’.
But in respond, Vice President Howard Taylor alleged that the staffers were coerced by opposition lawmakers to include Senator Abraham Darius Dillon and other influential opposition Senators.
She said under President Weah, Liberia has experienced huge transformation including pavement of roads, improved health and education, as well as a stable economy. The greatest of them all she said, is securing the peace and promotion of freedom of expression.
The event was also attended by top lawmakers of the ruling party including Speaker Bhofal Chambers, Senators Saah Joseph (Montserrado County), Joseph Jallah (Lofa County), Reps. Acarous Gray (District #8, Montserrado), Johnson Gwaikolo (District #9, Nimba County) and Matthew Fair Play Joe (Grand Bassa County), among others.
But with all of what has been said, many are now asking if President Weah played a double-dipping political game against his own candidate he (Pres. Weah) publicly campaigned for.
It was never a secret that President Weah who is the standard bearer of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change did not support Senator Abraham Darius Dillon, as the Liberian leader was heard and seen on many occasions telling his supporters to vote against the then CPP candidate (Dillon) who was seeking a re-election bid during the 2020 senatorial elections.
Despite the President and the CDC’s easy access to state-resources and human capitals, they lost bigly to “The People’s Senator”.
On December 8th, 2020 the Senator proved to the party, Liberians at home and abroad, and friends of Liberia, that in contemporary Liberia, he is a serious political contender.
He triumphantly demonstrated in numbers that the name, Dillon, in today’s Liberia is more marketable than George Manneh Weah, the CDC, and their defeated senatorial hopeful, Representative Thomas Fallah. The senator unarguably whipped Rep. Fallah.
Senator Dillon secured 206, 368 votes representing more than 61 % in the midterm election while Rep. Fallah trailed with120, 405 votes, which accounted for more than 35 % of the total ballots cast. Senator Dillon was re-elected for a nine-year term.
He replaced the late Montserrado County Junior Senator Geraldine Doe Sheriff, formerly of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC). The late Senator Doe Sheriff was Chairman emeritus of the CDC.
She won the seat on the CDC’s ticket in 2009 before severing ties with the party to join the former ruling Unity Party (UP). In February 2019, she died in Accra, Ghana, after months of nursing a cancer illness.
According to the NEC, 2.4 million qualified and registered voters participated in the December 8, 2020 nationwide midterm elections. Besides the senator, no lawmaker in recent Liberian parliamentary election history has ever secured such number of votes.
The more reason many political analysts are suggesting that Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor picked him for an attack while addressing scores of pro-CDC workers at the capitol.
By doing so, the VP thought the odds may have gone against Senator Dillon something which is on the contrary as many citizens including sources close to the ruling party are raising concern on such accusation of the president support to an opposition candidate against the Party (CDC) fielded candidate.
VP Taylor bring to two (2) the high-profile official from the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change that alleged giving support to the opposition senator.
The Senate Pro-tempore of the Liberian Senate Albert Chea during one of the senate hinted deliberations in 2021, confessed of supporting the Montserrado County Senator financially to carry on his campaign during the 2020 senatorial elections.
Even though Senator Dillon has since challenged the Pro-Temtpore’s accusation, but the public particularly those from the ruling party saw the allege financial support of the Senate Pro-Tempt who is from the ruling party, as a betrayal to the CDC.
