Monrovia – Senator Oscar Cooper of Margibi County has termed as “total nonsense” recent comments from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in a communication to Senate Pro-Tempore Armah Jallah complaining him (Cooper) of unbecoming behavior against Public Works Minister William Gyude Moore.
Report by Henry Karmo – [email protected]
“For the President to request a Senator to only refer to GAC report is total nonsense. Suppose GAC report is contaminated?
We will use part of it but we have other evidence. Don’t tell me how to do my job; I don’t work for you, if Jallah wants to sit there to be dictated to you, let him go ahead”
– Senator Oscar Cooper of Margibi County
President Sirleaf in a communication dated October 4th complained the Margibi County Senator to Pro-Tempore Jallah of intentionally and maliciously defaming the Minister of Public works, Moore.
President Sirleaf said she could not understand the motive of the Senator who, according to her, accused Minister Moore of “incompetence” and “unlawful behavior”.
According to President Sirleaf, Senator Cooper’s action has caused the country to lose multiple millions of US dollars.
Appearing on the Costa Radio Talk Show Thursday, Senator Cooper claimed that the allegations in the President’s letter were all “nonsense”, stating that the President’s request for him to rely solely on the report from the General Audition Commission (GAC), instead of the Public Procurement Concession Commission (PPCC) report to perform his oversight as a lawmaker was “insincere.”
Cooper said: “For the President to request a Senator to only refer to GAC report is total nonsense. Suppose GAC report is contaminated?
We will use part of it but we have other evidence. Don’t tell me how to do my job; I don’t work for you, if Jallah wants to sit there to be dictated to you, let him go ahead.”
He also described as “shameful” the President’s complaint but blamed the Senate’s leadership which he accused of not being independent.
He described the leadership of the Senate as a “group of people who are always interested in asking for personal interest rather than that of the Liberian people.”
Senator Cooper: “I am answerable to the people of this republic I am an elected Senator of Margibi with 36, 000 votes to represent their interest and a little boy like Gyude Moore, because there is no respect for office here anymore, writes the President to breach the Constitution of separation of powers and the President goes ahead to do that.
“How can an appointed little minister write the President to control a Senator on how to perform his oversight [responsibility]?
The President did not even call me to give me a day [in court]. That little boy doesn’t know better; I will teach him something for writing President on me.”
“I am an independent lawmaker. And let it go on the record [that] I am an opposition.”
Cooper was a ranking member of the ruling Unity Party up to 2014, but withdrew his membership after the 2014 election for a new Senate Pro-Tempore, which he contested and lost to Armah Jallah.
Cooper at the time frowned on his colleagues for not standing with him against the Pro-Tempore’s decision to replace him as chair on the Senate’s Committee on Public Works in the midst of an investigation on US$34 million for road projects.
Cooper claim to have documentary evidence from the PPCC to prove the violation of regulations guiding the awarding of contracts.
“Armah Jallah needs to be checked because he is causing total disrespect to the Senate by taking directive from the Executive and losing his independence.”
“I am not going to sit under that little boy’s gavel. I am going to stand up and not go down quiet,” Cooper added.
“I want to address the President letter officially and I have to clarify it. How can a President refer to a Senator as unbecoming? What is unbecoming?
Is performing oversight? What malicious thing did I do by performing my job as chair on Public Works?
The President says lack knowledge even though I have worked for more than five years as chair on Public Works Committee,” he averred.
He further claimed that the President’s letter was not well written and believes minister Moore should be brought to the senate and be charged for contempt and sent to prison for writing such a letter.
“Why are you hiding behind your mom’s skirt? I am writing the senate plenary not Armah Jallah with all my proof,” he added.
In September, Senator Cooper as chairman on the Senate Committee on Public Works invited on two occasions the Minister of Public Works to appear before the committee on Public Works to answer questions about contracts that he allegedly gave out to contractors without observing the PPCC regulations, but failed to appear.
As a result of the minister’s failure to appear, Senator Cooper complained the Minister to plenary through a communication but Pro-Tempore Jallah requested that the matter be settled outside plenary.
As a result of his resistance, Senator Cooper was removed as chairman on the Public Works Committee.