WILLIAM Q. HARMON
Africa-Press – Liberia. Senator Prince Johnson might be under the weight of an imposed United States government sanction, a move that many think would have dented his influence in the country.
But Johnson’s political claws and tentacles are far from being broken, as the Nimba County Senator is poised to score a hattrick of nine years at the senate — an equivalent of 27 years—when the October 10 election results are announced.
Johnson is the only Senator who will be seeking a third term at the upcoming eelections,and, with his victory being a foregone conclusion due to his unmatched popularity in Nimba, it is no secret that the god-father of Nimba politics could become the longestserving post-war lawmaker at the first branch of government when the results are announced four months from now.
“To all my supporters in Liberia and abroad, I would like to inform you that I will be on the ballot paper for the upcoming October 10 elections. I have completed my registration, and the National Elections Commission has provided me with my package after I submitted all the required documents necessary to register and run for the Senate,” Senator Johnson revealed in a social media post on July 1.
He told his kinsmen that this election would be his last. “For the final time, I am appealing to the people of Nimba County to allow me to retire honorably, making way for someone who is anointed to take over from me,” he noted. “As you may already know, I have been like a father to the county, and now it is time for us to seek another capable and responsible leader who will take Nimba to new heights after my last term.”
On December 9, 2021, slammed an “Economic Sanction” on Johnson, for corruption in what many think are ongoing efforts to enclose the notorious warlord for eventual war crimes charges.
The US said the Nimba Senator has been involved in pay-for-play funding with government ministries and organizations for personal enrichment — while also receiving funding from government ministries and organizations to launder a portion of the funding for return to the involved participants.
“The alleged pay-for-play funding scheme involves millions of U.S. dollars. Johnson has also offered the sale of votes in multiple Liberian elections in exchange for money,” the US government said.
The sanctions against Johnson, under the Global Magnitsky Act, authorize the U.S. government to sanction those it sees as human rights offenders, freeze their assets, and ban them from entering the U.S.
However, the US sanction appears to have had little or no impact on Johnson, with his political capital seemingly intact, seeing as he seems to still enjoy the explicit confidence of his people, who still look up to him for political direction.
As the proverbial godfather of Nimba County, he has enjoyed the overwhelming support of his people, winning two senatorial elections with what many would consider absolute mandates from the people.
He was one of only two senators who came out unscathed out of the 15 senior senators who were elected in 2005 and sought reelection in 2014. The other lucky candidate was current Vice President, Jewel Howard Taylor, who survived a post election judicial process by the skin of her teeth.
Johnson has been the kingmaker in the two immediate past elections — holding sway over the second most vote-rich county in the country and commands a lot of respect and influence in that county.
If successful in October, Johnson would just be a year shy of being the longest-serving member of the legislature in the history of the country, after former Montserrado County Representative Richard Abrom Henries, who served from 1952 till his brutal death in 1980. Henries served almost all of the years as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Right with or behind Johnson in the longevity distinctions at the national legislature are Bomi County Senator, Edwin Melvin Snowe, and Montserrado County District #5, Thomas Fallah. The duo have already clinched their terms of six years each and would be seeking their 4th in the upcoming polls–a feat that would make them stay a total of 24 years on Capitol Hill.
A recently trusted political ally of President George Weah, the Nimba Senator has severed ties with the status quo and is doing everything possible to have the President and his Coalition for Democratic Change unseated at the polls in October.
Johnson, who told a Voice of America (VOA) interview in January that there is no way he will collaborate with Weah in the ensuing presidential and legislative elections, and his political godson, and fellow Senator Jeremiah Koung, have joined ranks with opposition leader Joseph Boakai and his Unity Party.
The decision to halt his support for President Weah’s reelection bid, he said, is based on the President’s failure to prioritize the interests of the people of Nimba County
“What we expected in the past is not what we see on the ground. We had believed that, being the world’s best, the European best, the African best, with his election, he would have attracted investors to Liberia to create jobs and alleviate the suffering of our people through their investments. But since his election, the world has abandoned us in the sense that no investors are coming. And what we are doing in the country is just ratifying loan agreements, and you cannot build a country based on loans,” Johnson told the VOA in an interview in January.
Giving the people of Nimba more reasons not to vote for Weah in October, Senator said in his weekend social media post, “The CDC government is boasting about the improvement of feeder roads in Nimba County, but this claim is misleading and deceitful.”
“The feeder roads project you see in Nimba today was initiated by ‘EFAH’ during the regime of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Their purpose was to purchase cocoa and rehabilitate the roads and hard-to-reach areas with additional cocoa.
“The CDC government made promises to construct markets and hospitals, but they have misappropriated the funds for these projects without actually building them in Nimba County,” he said. “The road pavement you witness in Nimba today began during the former President Ellen’s administration, and the necessary funds were already allocated for it.”
Johnson said that the current government owes Nimba County over five million United States Dollars. “If they truly believe they can improve major highways in the country, I urge them to prioritize paving the roads in the South East instead of using Ivory Coast as a passage to reach Maryland County,” he said.
For More News And Analysis About Liberia Follow Africa-Press
