Kakata, Margibi County – Vice President Joseph Boakai’s unveiling of House Speaker Emmanuel Nuquay as his running mate Saturday in Kakata city inspired reactions as some citizens celebrated the Boakai-Nuquay ticket while others jeered the convoy of the vice president and his running mate.
Report by Selma Lomax, [email protected]
Protesters, who gathered outside the Kakata City hall, venue of the program, with placards with inscriptions “Wicked ticket” promised to do all to ensure that the ticket doesn’t win.
“We will ensure that this ticket is defeated in October because making Boakai the next President and Speaker Nuquay as the next vice president will send a bad signal for our future,” one protester only identified as Patrick told FrontPageAfrica reporter.
The venue of the program was filled with its fair share of die-hard Nuquay supporters Saturday, who danced and sang along with traditional performers for hours before he and the vice president arrived.
“Speaker Nuquay is a great leader not only for district five where he represents as lawmaker but the entire Margibi County,” Clarence Theophilus Doe, a resident of district #5 said as he danced with supporters of Speaker Nuquay.
Many others were more reserved in their support.
Jenkins Flomo and his wife Rebecca, for example, drove to Kakata from Firestone to see Speaker Nuquay even though they said they are still “on the fence” about who to vote for.
“I am here to see Nuquay for the first time because I have heard a lot about him. People have said all kinds of good things about him but I have not decided who to vote for yet.”
Ma Mary, a resident and Bong Mines who declined to give her last name, said she was similarly undecided but said she agrees with Speaker Nuquay on the issue about the central region producing a leader.
Nuquay, meanwhile, lauded Yallah for his bold comments and urged citizens of Margibi County to unite to ensuring that the Boakai-Nuquay ticket becomes victorious.
He said the Boakai-Nuquay ticket will lift Liberians to prosperity, adding that the ticket will build roads and ensure that the rest of the country is not cut off when rainy season comes.
“This is the ticket that will distribute electricity everywhere in this country. This is the ticket that will provide education and empowerment for the young people of our country. “
“This is the ticket that will build our country,” he added.
The Speaker said the formulation of the PUP was intended to rebirth the ideology of former Bong County superintendent Gabriel William Kpolleh when he founded the defunct Liberia Unification Party.
Speaker Nuquay said though Kpolleh’s dreams of uniting the people of the central region didn’t materialize; the PUP now has the best chance to make that dream a reality.
Speaker Nuquay used the occasion to appeal to whosever he may have hurt to forgive him so that they can form a team that will lift Liberia. He described his selection as the best moment that should unite the people of the central region rather than creating confusion.
“There will be no reason or excuse if we don’t success on this mission. This is our time, this is our moment,” he added.
“This mission is our life, is about our future. Join the team and let’s make this mission a dream for everyone of us.”
Speaker Nuquay used Friday’s program to dismiss rumors that he has been an influential member of the Margibi County legislative caucus since he became representative of district #5 in 2005.