Monrovia – Disassociating himself from the ruling establishment was his plan to win citizens who were disenchanted over the manner and form in which the country was being govern to his side, as he geared up for the presidential contest in 2017.
“Cllr. Jones is raising concern because he was left out of the process. A group of individuals have hijacked the party”.
“Ngafuan wants to be President; do you think he would join this party just to be a mere spectator? Do you also think that someone like Ngafuan would take over this party for free?” – Our source rhetorically asked
Making the Victory for Change party (VCP) his new political home late October, the former Foreign Affairs Minister, Augustine Ngafuan, said he joined the party after consulting and meticulously analyzing the appropriate way forward.
Ngafuan in a ceremony organized to launch Friends of Ngafuan (FAN) in Gbarnga said all the existing 22 political parties have their positives and their negatives, their strengths and their weaknesses; but his fundamental objective was to find a party that espoused his core values for the transformation of Liberia and en synced with his grand strategy of aligning with other positive forces of Liberia as he fashioned out a strong, selfless and successful formula for a 2017 presidential victory.
“My fellow compatriots, after months of consultations and analyses, I am pleased to announce to the Liberian people and friends of Liberia that I have finally decided to join the Victory of Change party (VCP).
As I do so, I call on all my supporters and sympathizers across the length and breadth of the country to join me in treating this institution as our new political home,” Ngafuan declared during the ceremony.
While officials of the Victory for Change were careful enough to clarify that Ngafuan was not taking over as standard bearer until convention was held; it was easy for the public to rationalize that Ngafuan, whose ambition for the presidency had remained unbending, was the clear cut standard bearer in waiting.
Internal Wrangling
Information reaching FrontPageAfrica suggests some internal wrangling within the leadership of the Victory for Change over Ngafuan’s membership and eventual lead of the party.
Speaking to Journalists recently in Monrovia, the founder and current standard bearer of the party, Cllr. Marcus Jones in a rather angry tone said Ngafuan does not qualify under the constitution of the party to hold any position in the party, other than being an ordinary member.
Cllr. Jones stressed that the party was not for sale as he had received hints that the position of standard bearer had been sold to Ngafuan by some officials of the party.
“I have been receiving so many calls that I have sold my political party, the Victory For Change party, to Augustine Ngafuan, but it is time I clear the air. On October 22, Augustine Ngafuan made it known that he has joined the Victory for Change Political party as a member, which is less than a month, and we welcomed him.”
“So how can he announce himself as a presidential hopeful for the party?
Therefore, I am denying that the Victory For Change political party has been sold to anybody, including Mr. Ngafuan,” Cllr. Jones said.
party’s Deflection
In a statement issued Thursday, the Chairman of the Victory for Change, Cllr. Emmanuel Tulay, expressed shock and dismay over the comments made in the media by the standard bearer, Cllr. Jones, which he claimed had the net effect of confusing the public about the interpretation of certain provisions of the Constitution of VCP and leaving the impression that VCP is mired in an internal conflict.
The statement: “For the record, the VCP wishes to categorically clarify that no provisions of the Victory for Change party state(s) that one must be a member of the party at least two years prior to an ensuing convention before qualifying for a post on the National Executive Committee (NEC).
Any such interpretation of the party’s Constitution is simply fallacious and disingenuous and meant to undermine the party’s ability to attract competent and credible Liberians to join its ranks.
“As the Chairman of the party, Cllr. Emmanuel Tulay, stated nearly a month ago and we reiterate here and now, the VCP wholeheartedly welcomes Hon. Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan and the thousands of his supporters who have decided to make the party their political home.
The VCP assures all new members and potential members the party as well as the general public that the party is open, inclusive, and democratic. We will not countenance the malicious and mischievous interpretation of the party’s Constitution with the sole intent of unduly limiting competition in the party.
“As the party prepares for its ensuing convention, we call on all old and new members of the party harboring intentions to vie for elective posts in the party to begin to show themselves worthy of the trust and respect of the partisans of the party; and to proceed in such a manner that will leave no doubt in the minds of partisans and the general Liberian public that the growth, vibrancy and political success of the party are their primary objectives and motivations.”
Money Exchanged Hands
Sources close to the political party hinted FrontPage Africa that the some executives of the party had received some amount of money from Ngafuan to accommodate him in the party. According to our source, the amount paid by Ngafuan was not satisfactorily shared among the key players in the top hierarchy of the Victory for Change.
“Cllr. Jones is raising concern because he was left out of the process. A group of few individuals have hijacked the party.
Ngafuan wants to be President; do you think he would join this party just to be a mere spectator? Do you also think that someone like Ngafuan would take over this party for free?” our source rhetorically asked.
Ngafuan’s Denial
When contacted via Mobile, Mr. Ngafuan, who sounded rather astonished, admitted that he is a member of the Victory for change party, but he did not join the party to buy it, according to rumors.
“If the party was for sale, I would not have joined it in the first place. So was I a member of the Unity party, to buy it?
The news going around is false and misleading because I have never told anybody that I was going to be standard bearer for the Victory for Change party. If I want to contest for the standard bearer ship, it will have to be done through a democratic means,” said Ngafuan.
When asked as to whether Cllr. Jones was still the Standard Bearer of the party, Mr. Ngafuan replied: “Cllr Jones remains the standard Bearer of the party until we go to the party’s convention to vote for officials, so people should not be carrying this false news around.
Ngafuan, however, did not comment as to whether he qualifies to contest the standard bearer position of the party, taking into consideration constitutional provisions that prevent him from doing so.
Report by Lennart Dodoo |[email protected] | +231 886 33 40 65/+231 777 788 805