Monrovia — The opposition Congress for Democratic Change has rejected claims by National Patriotic Party Chairman George Mulbah that his party declined an invitation to participate in a proposed opposition roundtable, insisting that no such invitation was extended to the NPP as an institution.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh
CDC Secretary-General Jefferson Koijee said the record must be set straight, arguing that the NPP and its national leadership were never formally invited to the planned engagement.
“At no time and at no point did the Congress for Democratic Change extend an invitation to the National Patriotic Party or its national leadership to participate in the proposed opposition roundtable discussion,” Koijee said.
His comments followed an announcement by Mulbah that the NPP would not participate in the planned opposition meeting.
Koijee said while a number of “outstanding, uncompromising” members of the NPP were invited, they were invited in their individual capacities and not as representatives of the party.
“Neither the NPP as an institution nor its National Chairman, Mr. George Mulbah, was invited,” he said.
He accused Mulbah of creating the impression that the CDC had sought the institutional participation of the NPP and was subsequently rejected.
“The National Chairman should therefore immediately cease and desist from creating the impression that the CDC sought the institutional participation of the NPP and was subsequently rejected,” Koijee added.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of the two parties’ political history. The NPP was a key component of the Coalition for Democratic Change during the 2017 presidential and legislative elections. The coalition brought together the CDC, which produced then-presidential candidate George Manneh Weah, and the NPP, which produced then-Vice Standard Bearer Jewel Howard-Taylor.
The CDC-led coalition won the 2017 presidential election and subsequently governed Liberia from 2018 to 2024.
Koijee also questioned the political circumstances surrounding Mulbah’s statement, particularly his reported employment within the Office of Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung.
He said the relationship raises questions about the “independence, timing and motivation” of statements directed at opposition cooperation.
Koijee further criticized what he described as the NPP leadership’s weak response when its standard bearer and former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor faced criminal allegations and incarceration.
“At that defining moment, the statement attributed to the party leadership was, in our view, one of the weakest responses in the history of a party once renowned for its fighting spirit, political potency and revolutionary character,” he said.
The CDC Secretary-General maintained that his party would not allow what he described as political distractions and manufactured controversies to undermine cooperation among opposition forces.
“The mighty Congress for Democratic Change has no room for political distractions, manufactured controversies or attempts to fracture genuine opposition solidarity,” Koijee said.
He pledged that the CDC would remain “vigilant” and respond to what it considers efforts to undermine democratic cooperation among opposition groups.
Koijee concluded by thanking individuals and institutions that were formally invited to the roundtable and accepted the invitation, saying their participation demonstrated that the broader democratic conversation would continue.
“The democratic conversation continues, and no political grandstanding will derail it,” he said.
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