Monrovia, Liberia – The results of the screening and subsequent selection of three veterans for the management team at the National Bureau for Veteran Affairs have been immediately nullified by the high command of the Armed Forces of Liberia, bringing peace back to the veteran community.
Recently, a 17-man steering committee set up by the veteran community of the Armed Forces of Liberia in collaboration with the National Bureau of Veteran Affairs selected Retired Major Thomas Plato, Director General; Retired Captain Edward Tokpah, Deputy Director General for Administration; and Retired First Lieutenant Isaac Wallace, Deputy Director General for Veteran Affairs, to be forwarded to President Joseph Bokai for nomination and subsequent confirmation by the Liberian Senate.
But this venture brought an angry reaction from the just past leadership of the National Bureau of Veteran Affairs on the ground that it violated the Act that established the entity.
Speaking shortly after a day-long meeting with the contending parties in the veteran community, AFL Chief of Staff, Major General, Davidson Forleh, made unequivocally clear that only the board of directors of the National Bureau of Veteran Affairs is clothed with the authority vet and forward qualified vets for onward recommendation to the President and Commander in Chief of the AFL.
According to Maj. Gen. Fortleh, the continuous presence of the outgoing leadership at the bureau and the measures taken by some members in selecting and vetting a new leadership are in sharp contravention of the procedures for appointments, which must meet the consent and approval of the board of directors after a proper vetting and selection process.
Based on prevailing circumstances, the AFL Chief of Staff also requested that the outgoing management team relinquish all their activities by handing over the gavel of authority to the Human Resource Officer in accordance with the directive of former President George Weah.
Maj. Gen. Forleh recommended that the skeleton staff, the comptroller, retired major Joseph Nyunder, and the incumbent HR officer, retired captain Edward Tokpah, serve as the bureau’s interim leaders.
He asked all sides to maintain composure and peace and reassured them that he would confer with President Joseph Boakai and the Commander in Chief in the interim to find suitable solutions in accordance with the National Bureau of Veteran Affairs Act.
The Chief of Staff of the AFL has also issued a warning to the opposing parties, advising them to maintain calm and abstain from any kind of protest against the government until the authorities investigate their grievances and provide a solution.
As for the opposing parties, they agreed to follow the Chief of Staff’s recommendations and pledged to maintain composure while cooperating as a unit for the benefit of the National Bureau of Veteran Affairs.
Additionally, they pledged to step in and diffuse the planned demonstration by widows of fallen veterans.
Colonel Theophilus Anto Dana, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the ALL, and a few other AFL high command officials attended the meeting, which took place in the AFL High Command conference room.
Reported by: Augustine Octavius
Contact: +231777463963
Email: augustineoctavius@gmail.com
