Monrovia – As condemnations pour in from Liberians against the inaugural committee team for the poor handling of the ceremony that caused President Joseph Boakai to experience heat exhaustion during his inaugural address, the inaugural committee team is now pointing fingers at the Legislature and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among other government entities, for strangulating the smooth operation of their work, something they say led to an unsuccessful program at the Capitol Building.
By J.H. Webster Clayeh (0886729972) – [email protected]
FrontPage Africa could not get responses from former officials who were working along with the inaugural committee team. However, the team, headed by Madam Miatta Fahnbulleh, addressed the Ministry of Information Regular Press Briefing on Thursday, January 25, 2024, saying her hands were all tied up. She added that all the suggestions she made were not taken into consideration by the outgoing leadership at the time. Madam Fahnbulleh also mentioned that she was not in control of the $600,000 budget.
“On December 10, 2023, I was informed publicly about my appointment as head of the inaugural committee. I like to inform you that I was the inaugural chair in name only; other people made the decisions. The Unity Party ran a second alternative inaugural committee from their office on Broad Street, and the government of Liberia also came along by controlling the budget and every other plan that we had. I control no budget,” Miatta Fahnbulleh, Inaugural Committee Head, said.
Legislature Decided the Venue for the Inauguration Ceremony
Madam Fahnbulleh said upon choosing the venue, her team decided to have the occasion at the historic Centennial Pavilion but was rejected by the Legislature.
According to her, the Legislature informed her about their oversight responsibilities, adding that she had no option but to go by the lawmakers’ instructions.
“I recommended the Centennial Pavilion for its historicity, for its convenience, and for having less work than all the other venues. That was the plan I presented to the JTPP, and from there, my trouble started,” she said.
“They (Legislature) said Centennial was too small; it could not accommodate. I said we can host 4,000 people in the hall and outside of the canopy. When I presented that proposal, I was informed by the Legislature that they have oversight on the inauguration,” Madam Fahnbulleh said.
She added, “To the members of the Legislature who want to go far from this national disaster, those who claim they had oversight, where they were, how many of them came and asked if we had enough water, if we had enough chairs, none of them.”
According to the Inaugural Committee head, funds were made available for the committee to do their work on January 15, 2024. She further stated that the Friday event at the Benson Street Mosque went well, but things got out of control during the church service on January 21, 2024, at Effort Baptist Church in Paynesville.
“I’m Not Responsible for the of Any Invitation”
Madam Fahnbulleh also blamed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for printing surplus invitations. She said the inaugural committee team asked the Foreign Ministry to print 4,000 invitations, something she said was on the contrary.
“When I was taught the understanding of the number 4,000 was completed, I am finding out this morning that 7,000 invitations were given out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ protocol. I only found out this morning,” she said.
Madam Fahnbulleh added, “So, why will somebody hold me responsible for not having 7,000 chairs? How was I supposed to know that the government securities that control the entire process in terms of security, the EPS officers could stand like a gate and just allow people to walk in with an invitation or no invitation. From the very entrance, people walked in, including the peanut seller,” Madam Fahnbulleh said.
Madam Fahnbulleh Apologizes for Poor Conduct of the Inauguration
Adding up, despite being aware of the ‘inappropriate’ things that were going on, Madam Fahnbulleh apologized to the public that she was not able to speak out nor to inform the then President-elect Boakai about some of the wrong things that were going on.
According to her, it was not prudent to inform President Boakai on issues surrounding the inauguration, adding that he had lots of things he was dealing with.
“We apologize, and I’m sure it will help. Basically, I did not want to go complaining to His Excellency. He gave me a responsibility and I tried to protect him from what was going on, and so I tried to exclude him from all these things,” the inaugural committee head said.
She added, “I was never in control, and I could not be running to Joseph Boakai that – Oh, they do not want me to do this or that. He expected more from me.”
