By: Barclay Karnley Jr
MONROVIA: House Speaker, Cllr. Jonathan Fonati Koffa, has accused the Executive Branch of government, headed by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai of aiding and comforting absentee members of the House of Representatives.
According to him, the submission of the Draft 2025 national budget that is currently before members of the ‘majority bloc’ in the Legislature where officials from the Executive Branch are attending for hearing is a clear indication of the Executive’s support to the leadership crisis at the House of Representatives.
Speaker Kofa has disclosed another pending legal action against members of the ‘Majority Bloc’ for its complete disrespect by members of that body to ignore the recent Supreme Court ruling.
Speaking to Legislative reporters on Monday at his Capitol Building office, Speaker Koffa maintained that members of the ‘majority bloc’ are still conducting business amidst the ruling from the Supreme Court, terming their action as illegal and an act of treason.
Cllr. Fonati previously petitioned the Supreme Court to declare the actions of the majority bloc to be unconstitutional and illegal.
He stressed that the action of some of his colleagues convening session at the Joint chamber without the Speaker, despite his presence is against Article 49 of the Constitution of Liberia.
The embattled Speaker also pray the Supreme Court to declare as unconstitutional, using the illegal plenary to unconstitutionally suspend members of the House of Representatives without first affording them the necessary and required constitutional due process mandated by Article 20 of the Liberian constitution and rule 48of the House Standing Rules.
It can be recalled the Supreme Court of Liberia under the leadership of Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh on Friday, December 6, 2024, handed down a ruling in the House of Representatives impasse.
House Speaker Cllr. Fonati Kofa further prays the Court to declare as illegitimate and unconstitutional the restructuring and reconstitution of statutory committees of the House of Representatives which he said is in violation of the committees Chairs and co-chairs appointment by the speaker for three (3) years and that they can only be removed by a two third vote of the entire membership of the House of Representatives.
He also petitions the Supreme Court on what he terms as unconstitutional seizing and taking possession of the 2025 draft National Budget by the Deputy Speaker, Thomas P. Fallah and Samuel G. Kogar, although it was directed to Speaker Kofa in his capacity as Presiding Officer of the House of Representatives.
The Speaker maintains that unlawfully acting on the budget is a violation of Article 49 of the constitution and rule 10 of the House Standing Rules.
The Supreme Court in its final ruling stated that; “any sitting or actions by members of the Legislature not in conformity with the intent of Article 33 and 49 of the constitution are Ultra Vires. Hence, members of the House of Representatives are to conduct themselves accordingly. The Clerk of Court is ordered to inform the parties. AND IT IS HEREBY SO ORDERED. The Supreme ruling stated.”
Despite the Friday, December 6, 2024 ruling by the Supreme Court, members of the majority bloc are currently conducting hearings into the 2025 draft national budget at the House of Representatives.
“We are consulting with our lawyers to determine our next course of action, the disappointing part is that we see members of the executive, we see the Police brutalizing lawmakers which is an indication that the so-called absentees’ lawmakers are getting aid and comfort from the executive branch in this treasonous plot, he asserted.”
He meanwhile noted that there have been several attempts to nuance the decision of the Supreme Court.
“We all want to go by the rule of law, the Supreme Court has already decided in this matter; others have decided to read the decision upside down but regardless of how you read it, it is clear what the Supreme Court declared as plenary and what will have legal effect, they should all be calling their lawmakers to come back to work” he asserted.
