MONROVIA – Barely a few days after being attacked by aggrieved residents in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, Montserrado County District 10 Representative Yekeh Kolubah has declared his intention to contest the senatorial seat in Grand Gedeh in the much anticipated senatorial election slated for December 8, 2020.
It can be recalled that on July 30, 2020, a group of aggrieved supporters of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) staged a violent protest in the county, demanding the unconditional and immediate departure from the county of Representative Korlubah.
Representative Kolubah, who is a member of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), one of the political parties that make up the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), and his political leader, Mr. Alexander B. Cummings spent the night in Grand Gedeh from Maryland County when the incident occurred.
“Hon. Cummings, let me notify you about a petition from the respectable citizens of Konobo Statutory District in Grand Gedeh as well as meaningful citizens from other districts for me to contest for the senatorial position on the Collaborating Political Parties ticket in Grand Gedeh. Therefore Hon. Chairman, I hereby officially declare my intent to the Collaborating Political Parties to contest as Senator in the pending December 8, 2020 elections in Grand Gedeh County.”
– Yekeh Kolubah, Representative, District 10, Montserrado County
The remaining parties that form part of the CPP are: Liberty Party (LP), All Liberian Party (ALP), and the forming ruling Unity Party (UP).
The protesters attributed their action to the consistent use of profanities against President George Manneh Weah by the Montserrado County lawmaker.
In reaction to the incident, the Government of Liberia summoned the county’s Superintendent to return to Monrovia to assist an inquiry into the matter. But up to present, the findings and outcome of the investigation remain unknown.
In a communication dated August 7, 2020 and addressed to CPP’s Chairman, Mr. Alexander B. Cummings, a copy which is in the possession of FrontPage Africa, Representative Kolubah claimed that citizens of Grand Gedeh have requested him to partake in the mid-term senatorial election.
“Hon. Cummings, let me notify you about a petition from the respectable citizens of Konobo Statutory District in Grand Gedeh as well as meaningful citizens from other districts for me to contest for the senatorial position on the Collaborating Political Parties ticket in Grand Gedeh. Therefore Hon. Chairman, I hereby officially declare my intend to the Collaborating Political Parties to contest as Senator in the pending December 8, 2020 elections in Grand Gedeh County”.
Under-represented
Speaking in a telephone interview with FrontPage Africa on Saturday, August 8, the Montserrado County lawmaker stated that citizens of Grand Gedeh County are not adequately represented at the level of the National Legislature.
He claimed that most of the lawmakers hailing from the county have not done enough to proffer legislations or engage into advocacies to help improve the living condition of their people.
Representative Kolubah made specific reference to Grand Gedeh County Representative Zoe Emmanuel Pennue.
“The people have petitioned me to contest for the Senate. I will get back to them with a positive response when I get back to Grand Gedeh next week. I believed that the people of Grand Gedeh are not fully represented”.
“Let’s take for example Zoe Pennue. Has Zoe Pennue proffer anything at the Capitol Building than to get for himself? So, the people need people to represent them. The people in the south-east love me too much and they have asked me to contest”.
Consultations
Representative Kolubah, however, promised to hold consultations with his family members and others to make a final determination on the petition from citizens of Grand Gedeh County.
“I wrote the CPP already that I want to contest on the CCP ticket already. That’s the formality and my communication need to be in because the time is closer. I don’t want a situation when my family and my supporters will agree and it takes us some time to do that”.
“When you are being called by your people, you have to listen and so, I am consulting my family, my supporters and the people of district # 10. As soon as I have a consensus, I will contest”.
Joining the others
Barrage of sitting Representatives, mostly from the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) have already declared their intentions to contest the mid-term senatorial election slated for December 8, 2020, according to the National Elections Commission (NEC).
They include: Deputy House Speaker Prince K. Moye (Bong County), Representatives Thomas Fallah (Montserrado County), Jeremiah Koung (Nimba County), Ben Fofana (Margibi County), Ivar Jones (Margibi County), Zoe E. Pennue (Grand Gedeh County) and Edwin Snowe (Bomi County), among others.
Representative Kolubah, however, maintained that he will join his colleagues who are sitting lawmakers, and also vying for senatorial seats in their respective counties, because the move is being endorsed by the ruling party.
Representative Kolubah is a strong critic of President George Manneh Weah.
He has consistently criticized the Liberian Chief Executive for being “insensitive” to the plights of the Liberian people by accumulating and building properties worth millions of United States dollars in the wake of severe hardship and poverty confronting the citizenry.
He accused the President of accumulating ill-gotten wealth, extravagant spending and refusing to take actions against officials of his government who are engaged into corruption.
But the Executive Mansion has consistently denied the allegations.