Monrovia – Representative Henry Fahnbulleh of Montserrado District #4 has denied the Global witness report accusing him of receiving US$25K to resign his post as secretary general of the Unity Party.
Rep. Fahnbulleh was elected at the party primary in 2010 as the secretary general of the ruling Unity Party but was asked to resign by the party’s national chairman, Cllr. Varney Sherman, who was also elected at the convention as chairman of the party. He asked Fahnbulleh to resign due to ethnic links.
The representative resisted the request to resign from Cllr. Sherman because, according to him, there was no law which forbids it in the constitution of the party.
In the Global witness report, it is alleged that he (Fanhbulleh) received US$25K as an inducement to resign his post. The report alleges that Fahnbulleh received the US$25k on the 24 and resigned on the 25th but according to Fahnbulleh, he resigned on the 24 and not the 25th as alleged by the Global witness report.
At a news conference on Tuesday, the lawmaker said allegation from Global Witness that he received US$25K is false and misleading. According to him, he resigned on the basis of ethnicity and divisiveness that he saw as issues that were creeping into the Party due to his earlier stance not to budge to calls from Sherman to resign.
“I was offered ministerial jobs, I turned them down, but I saw issue of ethnicity and divisiveness creeping into the political party, so I resigned. But to read a report that mentioned my name in passing that I was given US$25k to resign, I see that as unfortunate, untrue and serious error.
“If the payment was done on the 24th I did not receive it because I resigned on the 24th. This report is false and misleading—at no time did I receive a dime to resign. I challenge the Global witness to provide additional information,” Fahnbulleh said.
The Montserrado County lawmaker says he will resign if there is evidence that he received a dime from Cllr. Sherman.
He confirmed meeting with investigators from Global Witness last year but says he is surprised that his response was not mentioned in the report.
“When your name is mentioned in suspicious payment, it should claim your attention and it is unfortunate that this publication was made at this time when I am contemplating on contesting for the chairmanship of the Unity party,” he said.
He claimed that it is strange that a committee has been set up by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to investigate those named in the report but has failed to do so for reports submitted to her domestically by the General Auditing Commission and the Legislative Public Account Committee on audits conducted.
Henry Karmo (0086522495) [email protected]
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