Monrovia – Senator Abraham Darius Dillon (LP, Montserrado County) has called for the intervention of the Liberian Senate in getting Cllr. Ndubuisi Nwabudike out of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) over controversies surrounding his Liberian citizenship.
Senator Dillon, in a communication to the Senate’s Plenary, stated that Part IV Section 6.3 of the Act creating the LACC requires that only citizens of Liberia are eligible to serve as Commissioner of the anti-graft institution, and Cllr. Nwabudike, as Chairman does not meet the criteria.
“Mr. Pro-temp we hold strongly that Mr. Ndubuisi Nwabudike, a Citizen of Nigeria by birth has not demonstrated or proven to be a Liberian and manner of acquisition of Liberian Citizenship, as he claimed before this august body during his confirmation hearings,” Senator Dillon wrote in his letter.
He added that his communication was intended to formally invite the intervention of the Senate over the issue of grave national concern.
He urged his colleagues to take proper and appropriate measures to uphold, protect and defend the integrity and credibility of the LACC.
Meanwhile, Section 6.3 of the LACC Act as referenced by Senator Dillon states that “Each member of the Commission shall be a Liberian Citizen of not less than thirty (30) years of age of good moral character in the community, and with proven records in anticorruption advocacy or professional training and/or experience in law, law enforcement, accounting, auditing or a related field.
It adds: “The membership of the commission shall also be drawn to reflect the broad spectrum of society, provided further that no two commissioners shall have the same county of origin and all five not be of the same gender.”
“Each member of the Commission shall be a Liberian Citizen of not less than thirty (30) years of age of good moral character in the community, and with proven records in anticorruption advocacy or professional training and/or experience in law, law enforcement, accounting, auditing or a related field.”
– Section 6.3 of the LACC Ac
Cllr. Nwabudike, the embattled LACC boss, was engulfed in a sea of controversies over his Liberian citizenship during his much publicized confirmation hearings at the Liberian Senate following his nomination as Chairman of the National Elections Commission (NEC) by President George Weah.
The Senate uncovered series of discrepancies over his naturalization, birth and academic documents, and this led to a barrage of calls from civil society organizations and prominent Liberian to reject his nomination.
President Weah, amid mounting outcry from the public and apparently sensing that his candidate who have been rejected by the Senate, withdrew Cllr. Nwabudike’s nomination.
The President also rescinded Cllr. Edwin Martin’s nomination as Chairman designate of the LACC, paving way for Nwabudike to stay in his position as Chairman.
Prior to his nomination as NEC Chairman, Cllr. Nwabudike who claimed to have been born unto a Nigerian father and a Liberian mother served as the Chairman of the Governance Commission (GC) before heading the LACC following his confirmation by the Liberian Senate.
He also graduated from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law under the status of a citizen of Liberia and admitted to the Liberia National Bar Association where has been practicing law for many years.
Senator Dillon’s request to Senate is the latest call to renounce the embattled LACC boss’s citizenship.