Monrovia, Liberia – The 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA) will not take place at the William R. Tolbert Joint Chambers at the Legislature, according to the House of Representatives’ majority bloc. Representative James Kolleh, the bloc’s chairman of the House of Representatives’ Rules, Order, and Administration committee, claims that the decision is the result of current Capitol Building renovations.
Representative Kolleh told reporters that it is not possible to finish the renovations by January 30, 2025, when the President is required by the constitution to conduct the SONA. “We are unable to begin renovations now in order to return on January 13, 2025. Therefore, the discussion of holding SONA at the Capitol is called off,” Kolleh revealed.
At the height of a political crisis that shook the Legislature in December 2024, a fire destroyed the Capitol Building’s Joint Chamber. The House of Representatives’ majority caucus met in the combined chamber, where they removed Speaker Jonathan Fonati Koffa and chose Richard Nagbe Koon to succeed him.
A day after a violent demonstration at the Capitol, the chamber was enveloped in flames. Representative Kolleh disclosed that negotiations are underway to find a better location for the SONA.
There is an ongoing conversation about where the State of the Nation Address will go next, he said. He pointed out that the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Executive, and the Executive branch are working on the ultimate choice. The Committee on Executive, Kolleh continued, has a crucial role in collaborating with the Executive branch of government to provide input to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Rules, Order, and Administration.
