{"id":90060,"date":"2026-04-28T12:27:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T12:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance"},"modified":"2026-04-28T12:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T12:40:57","slug":"hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance","title":{"rendered":"Hughes Returns Urging Unity After Probe Clearance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>Liberia Airport Authority Managing Director, Mr. Ernest R. Hughes <\/b>
\nMONROVIA\u2013<\/b> Liberia Airport Authority (LAA) Managing Director, Ernest R. Hughes, has resumed duty after President Joseph Nyuma Boakai cleared him to return, urging staff to put divisions behind them and focus on performance following weeks of investigation into the agency\u2019s governance.<\/p>\n

In a brief engagement with his employees following his return, Hughes said he deliberately stayed away during the investigation to avoid \u201cundue influence\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n

He expressed gratitude to the administrative staff for carrying on their duty in his absence.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou took the mantle, you did not hesitate, and you continue to carry all the work, so I want to thank you,\u201d he told the gathering.<\/p>\n

Hughes acknowledged that the investigation had exposed divisions within the authority. \u201cI saw there were three distinct groups of people that worked at LAA,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cThere were those who clearly drew a line and said we\u2019re against this man, we want him out of here no matter what. Then there was the group who supported me. And then there was the group that said, you know, we don\u2019t really care who\u2019s there, who\u2019s not there. We\u2019ll work with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the tensions, Hughes emphasized the importance of reconciliation. \u201cI hold nothing against anybody. Our purpose of being here is the work and the responsibility of this airport. We will continue to do that without favor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that expectations would remain high regardless of past allegiances: \u201cIf you do not perform, it will be an issue regardless of what side you are on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hughes also apologized for not communicating with staff before the corruption allegations, saying the silence fueled rumors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my responsibility as a leader to have sat down and talked with you. But I got confused and I got overwhelmed because I didn\u2019t expect it. I want to apologize for that. And we\u2019ll do our best going forward to communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The managing director described the episode as \u201ca very good eye-opener\u201d that allowed him to reflect on his leadership style.<\/p>\n

He credited prayers and support from colleagues for helping him endure the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though I knew with all the doubt in my mind that there was nothing corrupt in my behaviors, nothing that I did that was wrong, but this too, is Liberia, things can happen,\u201d Hughes remarked.<\/p>\n

He pledged transparency by sharing the official letter from the president\u2019s office authorizing his return.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo there can be no confusion in terms of what we\u2019re here to do and what this is about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The reinstatement follows President Boakai\u2019s directive that Hughes resume duties after he was found to have no criminal wrongdoings while the Liberia Airport Authority undergoes governance reforms, including board restructuring and stricter performance oversight.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. Liberia Airport Authority Managing Director, Mr. Ernest R. Hughes MONROVIA\u2013 Liberia Airport Authority (LAA) Managing Director, Ernest R. Hughes, has resumed duty after President Joseph Nyuma Boakai cleared him to return, urging staff to put divisions behind them and focus on performance following weeks of investigation into the agency\u2019s governance. In a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":90059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-90060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"\nHughes Returns Urging Unity After Probe Clearance - Liberia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Liberia Airport Authority Managing Director, Mr. Ernest R. Hughes MONROVIA\u2013 Liberia Airport Authority (LA ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hughes Returns Urging Unity After Probe Clearance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Liberia Airport Authority Managing Director, Mr. Ernest R. Hughes MONROVIA\u2013 Liberia Airport Authority (LA ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Liberia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-28T12:27:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-28T12:40:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367103.976312.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Hughes Returns Urging Unity After Probe Clearance\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-28T12:27:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-28T12:40:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance\"},\"wordCount\":491,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367103.976312.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Liberia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance\",\"name\":\"Hughes Returns Urging Unity After Probe Clearance - Liberia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367103.976312.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-28T12:27:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-28T12:40:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Liberia Airport Authority Managing Director, Mr. Ernest R. Hughes MONROVIA\u2013 Liberia Airport Authority (LA ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367103.976312.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367103.976312.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Hughes Returns Urging Unity After Probe Clearance\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hughes Returns Urging Unity After Probe Clearance\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/\",\"name\":\"Liberia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hughes Returns Urging Unity After Probe Clearance - Liberia","description":"Liberia Airport Authority Managing Director, Mr. Ernest R. Hughes MONROVIA\u2013 Liberia Airport Authority (LA ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hughes Returns Urging Unity After Probe Clearance","og_description":"Liberia Airport Authority Managing Director, Mr. Ernest R. Hughes MONROVIA\u2013 Liberia Airport Authority (LA ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance","og_site_name":"Liberia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2026-04-28T12:27:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-28T12:40:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367103.976312.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Hughes Returns Urging Unity After Probe Clearance","datePublished":"2026-04-28T12:27:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-28T12:40:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance"},"wordCount":491,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367103.976312.jpg","keywords":["Liberia"],"articleSection":["all news","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance","name":"Hughes Returns Urging Unity After Probe Clearance - Liberia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367103.976312.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-28T12:27:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-28T12:40:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Liberia Airport Authority Managing Director, Mr. Ernest R. Hughes MONROVIA\u2013 Liberia Airport Authority (LA ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367103.976312.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367103.976312.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"caption":"Hughes Returns Urging Unity After Probe Clearance"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/hughes-returns-urging-unity-after-probe-clearance#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hughes Returns Urging Unity After Probe Clearance"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/","name":"Liberia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90089,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90060\/revisions\/90089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}