Africa-Press – Liberia. Amidst swirling rumors and political discourse about the 78-year-old standard bearer of the Unity Party’s ability to conduct an energetic campaign due to his ailing health, his vice standard bearer, along with his key political ally, Senators Jeremiah Koung and Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, have suggested that his presence on the campaign trail may not be necessary.On Tuesday, a group of Legislature staff organized an endorsement program for Amb. Joseph Boakai and Sen. Jeremiah Koung. It is unclear why Amb. Boakai was unable to attend the elaborate ceremony. Nonetheless, Senators Koung and Karnga-Lawrence expressed in their speeches that they would advise the standard bearer to refrain from participating in the campaign and instead await his induction.
Sen. Karnga-Lawrence, who has been dubbed by the United Party as the ‘Mother of the Rescue Mission’, told the legislative staffers that they, as a team have their eyes fixed on the presidency and would work as a team during the campaign.
“They’re looking at the President, that’s Joseph Boakai, we’re looking at the presidency – that comes with a team, when you have such a team, the country will succeed. We’ll tell Boakai go find a place in Lofa and go on vacation, we do not need you on the campaign trail. We’ll tell him, go and wait for your induction,” she said.
Buttressing her comments, Sen. Koung also said, “Like she said, we’ll tell oldman Boakai to sit down, we’ll go across this country. Each of us sitting here knows how to campaign. We’ll sleep in the car up to October 10.”
Political pundits view these comments as a calculated strategy to provide a justification for the potential absence of the elderly standard bearer from numerous campaign activities leading up to the October 10 elections.
Amb. Boakai’s health has always been a point of controversy when discussing his presidential ambition. He has often maintained that he is fit as a fiddle to contest the election.
However, in early January, Amb. Boakai was admitted at the ELWA Hospital for almost a fortnight. Though members of the Unity Party remained coy and only have out scanty details pertaining to his illness, it was believed that the former vice president suffered a mild stroke.
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