Africa-Press – Liberia. Senator Prince Johnson of Nimba County has been rebuked by a notorious warlord, Albert Paye, for saying that the George Weah government was plotting to assassinate him.
Paye, a Libyan trained “special forces” soldier during the Liberian civil war, warned Johnson, alongside whom he previously fought in the early stages of the civil conflict, to stop criticizing Weah, as he considers it “disrespectful.”
The ex-fighter of President Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia believes that his county Senator’s claim about the government “plotting to have him killed” is a shameful falsehood.
“For our Senator to say that the President wants to kill him is not a good one. He is falsely accusing the President and this is not good,” Paye said as he claimed to be Senior Adviser to the Elder Council of Nimba County.
“For him to say that the President has not done anything for Nimba so the people of Nimba will not vote for him is a gross disrespect to the President and to our county.”
Paye’s position, which is ideologically aligned with Weah’s governing Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), comes only a few weeks after the Senator’s party accused the government of plotting the Senator’s assassination in response to the party’s decision to withdraw political support from the government.
The charge, however, was not supported by any evidence from the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR), of which Johnson is the founder and standard bearer emeritus. Weah has refuted the allegations. The President recently chastised the Senator for alleging that his life was in danger, calling him a blackmailer and telling him, “If you do not want to work with us, get on the side, we have other people.”
The Senator’s criticism has focused much on the President’s alleged refusal to appoint more people from the Nimba, a voting bloc that is particularly strong. The Senator has also accused the Weah government of doing little or nothing to improve the living conditions of the Liberian people.
Johnson remains the political ‘godfather’ of his county, with a large political following, and has played critical roles in two consecutive elections in Liberia. His support for former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the 2011 election run-off was critical for her regaining power.
Weah’s party has denied this, saying the Senator, who was important to Weah winning the election in 2017, is once again doing so for his own selfish gain. The president has appointed a few officials from Johnson’s party to Ministerial and Deputy Ministerial posts, with the most notable appointed official being Cllr. Cooper Kruah, is now the Minister of Post and Telecommunication.
The war of words between Johnson and Weah has also been fought on the battlegrounds of their respective Church pulpits as well. Those “pulpit exchanges” then drew the ire of Paye, who is now rebuking Johnson’s claims, saying “We, the citizens of Nimba are not in favor and are not part of it today or tomorrow.”
“I have come to let the Liberian people know that Nimba County is embarrassed and confused by the recent allegations made by Senator Prince Johnson against our President,” claims Paye, whose political authority in Nimba is unknown.
According to him, as elders of the county their expectation this year is to re-elect Weah, while claiming that Johnson no longer controls them as people.
“So, we are fed up with our senator’s behavior. Senator Johnson does not even respect us. Why is he making such accusations against President Weah now, during our election season? I will advise the senator to apologize for falsely accusing the president.”
Meanwhile, the ex-general Paye’s warning is similar to one given by a band of ex-rebel generals led by the notorious warlords Ofori Diah and Augustine Nagbe, known as “General Power.”
The generals, in November 2019, ordered Representative Yekeh Kolubah of Montserrado County District #10 to report to their office or face a forceful arrest over criticism of President Weah.
But the lawmaker insisted that he would not turn himself over, and that any attempt on the part of the ex-militia generals to use force will be met by stiff resistance, and a pledge to defend himself.
Nagbe, a kinsman of Weah, later threatened to organize members of his Kru tribe to form a force that would rise in defense of President Weah, should anyone try to attack him.
“I’m a Kru warrior, I’m the warrior for the Kru people – I don’t care how anybody takes it. We’re in Liberia but I’ll always defend my Kru people, trust me,” Nagbe noted. “Today, we’ve got a Kru man in power, but I don’t have power, I will not talk to him anyhow, when the time comes, he’ll bring me to government.”
For More News And Analysis About Liberia Follow Africa-Press
