Monrovia – Bomi County Senator Sando D. Johnson says the appointment of former Senator Lahai Lansanah as Coordinator on Dispute and Concession Affairs by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is illegal.
In response to Senator Johnson Claims of illegal appointment Lahai Lansanah said, if Senator Johnson has a problem with his appointment he should raise it with the President who has the appointment.
“Sando is a sitting Senator and I am former Senator I have no beef with him he is from the All Liberian People party (ALP) I am a member of the Unity Party so I think that is the differences between us,” Lansanah added.
Lasanah said his support to Representative Aspirant Edwin Snowe in Bomi County is another issue that is causing the hate.
“Whether or not he supports Snowe, Snowe will win and he thinks in his mind that by 2020 he will be a former Senator so that is all scare tactics,” he added.
Senator Johnson who chairs the Senate Committee on Concession at the Liberian Senate is describing the appointment of former Senator Lansanah as mere a political accommodation and not in line with the law.
According to Senator Johnson, President Sirleaf’s appointment is based on tribalism and kinship since she hails from the same Bomi County as former Lansanah.
Speaking to reporters at the Capitol Building Senator Johnson vowed to resist such appointment.
Senator Johnson is also rubbishing the committee currently headed by former Senator Lansanah, saying it is not statutory.
“That appointment is political accommodation because it is not by law. Unless where they can bring that law. It is not a committee that we will deal with because it is not statutory”, says Senator Johnson.
As head of the Senate Committee on Concession he has vowed not to recognize or work with the former Senator Lansanh led committee.
“It doesn’t have a statutory mandate, no constitutional backing. It is not relevant and we will not deal with them. My committee doesn’t recognize it,” he explained.
Disgusted over appointment
Senator Johnson expressed disgust over the creation of such committee when other institutions that are to work in that sector exist and should be used to perform such functions.
The sitting Senator believes that several entities are already existing that can perform the functions for which former Senator Lansanah was appointed by President Sirleaf.
“You have the minister of internal affairs, National Bureau of Concessions, National Investment Commission, legislative arms that are responsible to do oversight on those institutions.
He is a unity partisan and the President is a member, so it is a political accommodation,” Senator Johnson said.
Former Senator Lansanah served the Liberian senate from 2005until he was defeated during the special Senatorial election held in 2014 by current Senator Morris Saytumah.
During his time as Senator, Lansanah was not new controversies as he was accused of ordering shooting at the Guthrie rubber plantations during a protest by workers.
He served key statutory committees at the Senate including the Chairman of Senate Committee on Rules, Order and Administration.
Following his defeat in 2014, he is yet to get a high profile job like other defeated Senators including Gbehzongar Findley, John Ballout and others.
Lahai was appointed to also try to resolve some of the crisis which existed at the time in some companies.
For instance, there have been issues at Golden Verolum, Sime Darby, ArcelorMittal, Equatorial Palm Oil, Maryland oil palm plantation, among others.
Sources from Grand Cape Mount County say Senator Lansanah instead of helping to solve crisis is fermenting confusion in several communities.