Monrovia – Former Foreign Minister Milton Gbehzohngar Findley has called on Senator Nyonblee Kangar-Lawrence, the incumbent and his major rival in the upcoming Special Senatorial Election in Grand Bassa County to focus more on her campaign and stop what he terms as the cheap talk of implicating him into the illegal selling of 4,000 Liberia diplomatic passports.
Condemnations have been pouring in after former passport Director, Andrew Wonplo alleged that some 4,000 Diplomatic Passports were illegally sold to foreign nationals including an alleged drug dealer, under the watch of the former Minister Findley.
Mr. Findley’s main challenger in Grand Bassa, Senator Lawrence over the Weekend posted on her social media platform that the selling of passports, as it is being alleged to international criminals and terrorists, is a risk to Liberia’s credibility in Ecowas, and undermine the country’s regional standing.
Senator Lawrence in her comment said: “As a proud Liberian, a Senator, and a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, I hope that these allegations, which now swirl around the President and the Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, are not true. Because were they to be true, they would present us with our most embarrassing, shameful, and degrading international moment since the war brought our nation to our collective knees.”
But addressing reporters at a news conference Sunday, the former Foreign Minister said his team is busy setting up its structure to begin the campaign process in Grand Bassa County.
Mr. Findley said Senator Lawrence should understand and stop what he terms as cheap talk, adding no one can sell 4,000 diplomatic passports illegally.
According to him, under the system set up at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is not possible for anybody to take 4,000 passports, personalized it, take the money, and put it in their pockets. “So, Senator Lawrence, you got to deal with me in Bassa. I am not going to be distracted by you paying people to do news articles. That is why we are having a press conference in Buchannan,” Mr. Findley said.
The former Minister added: “I will say this to you all, that Senator Lawrence is believing in a criminal, she believes that what this criminal is saying is more credible than Gbehzohngar Findley, what it tells you –that she, herself is a criminal. Because if you believe in a criminal and come and brand somebody who is unblemished. If she knew the level of work that has done in this case, she wouldn’t be talking. She will be focusing on trying to take herself back to Grand Bassa and try to apologize to the Bassa people rather than calling somebody a criminal. She needs to apologize to the Bassa people for doing nothing for eight years,” Mr. Findley said.
Wonplo Urged: ‘Come Home and Face Justice’
The former Foreign Minister is meanwhile calling on the former Passport Director Andrew Wonplo to return to Liberia and Face Justice for the crimes he has committed.
Mr. Andrew Wonplo, was publicly designated by the Government of the United States of America for significant corruption and subsequently re-indicted by the Government of the Republic of Liberia for economic sabotage, misapplication of entrusted property, and criminal conspiracy.
Mr. Findley said Mr. Wonplo has fled justice while making baseless, unfounded, and trashy allegations against people of impeccable characters and excellent public service records. “Let me state for the records, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, at no time did I instruct the former Director of Passports and Visas to trade Liberian Passports to non-Liberians,” he said.
In August 2019, former Director Wonplo was suspended for passport fraud and forwarded to the National Security Agency (NSA) for further investigation. Consequently, he was formally charged and forwarded to court by the Government of Liberia for prosecution.
Mr. Findley added: “It is noteworthy to clarify, that while serving as Foreign Minister, all Honorary Consuls commissioned and issued diplomatic passports by the Government of the Republic of Liberia were judiciously and properly vetted in compliance with established international protocols, regulations, and laws. To this end, we wish to assure the public and the great people of Grand Bassa, that I will submit myself to any investigation home and abroad when and where necessary. Moreover, I wish to encourage former Director Andrew Wonplo to submit himself under the jurisdiction of the court. He cannot vindicate himself while on the run or fleeing justice.”