Monrovia, Liberia – In a telephone call that was leaked, Senator Emmanuel Nuquay emphasized that he was opposing the budget manipulations that Representative Ellen Attoh-Wreh, co-chair of the House’s Ways, Means, and Finance committee, had done in the 2024 national budget.
The senator from Margibi County gave FrontPageAfrica documentation attesting to the significant rise in the Liberia Special Economic Zone’s 2024 budget from US$22,623 to an astounding US$697,623.
In reaction to Rep. Attoh-Wreh’s manipulation of budgetary allocations to favor the Liberia Special Economic Zone, where her husband, Prince A. Wreh, serves as Executive Chairman, Senator Nuquay expressed his dissatisfaction.
He also mentioned the Liberia Special Economic Free Zone’s poor performance and suggested cutting the funding because of it. “The entity was moribund, so I told my colleagues to cut the budget.”
Meanwhile, county citizens are criticizing Representative Attoh-Wreh due to allegations that she manipulated the budget to benefit her husband.
These monies will be used to pay more than 70 people from Margibi County, many of whom are rumored to be supporting Mr. Wreh’s expected 2029 Senate race, according to a report by FrontPage Africa.
Given that the alleged appointments are furthering Rep. Attoh-Wreh’s and her husband’s political goal, critics have expressed concern about possible conflicts of interest in her activities.
They are accused of using them as political “propagandists” to attack respectable Margibi leaders on social media.
“It is dubious and unrealistic for the person making the budget to have a vested interest in it, as is the case with Rep. Attoh-Wreh,” a county lawmaker who wished to remain unnamed told FrontPageAfrica.
Rep. Attoh-Wreh’s decision to put her family’s financial interests ahead of urgent communal needs has also drawn criticism from locals.
The depressing condition of the C.H. Rennie Hospital, which was destroyed by fire two years ago, has been cited by several residents as a perfect illustration of local infrastructure that has been neglected.
“She is trying to raise money for her husband’s budget, but she hasn’t been able to raise money for our hospital,” said Joseph Kollie, a local.
Additionally, another Margibi citizen, Marie David, bemoaned the terrible state of the E.J. Yancy Public School in Rep. Attoh-Wreh’s district, which is devoid of even the most basic furnishings, and questioned why Rep. Ellen Attoh-Wreh would direct cash to her husband’s business instead.
The Rev. W. K. Moore School in the 26gate neighborhood has also drawn criticism for its immobility, since it has not yet made the move from elementary to junior high.
Rep. Attoh-Wreh’s apparent lack of interest in local concerns is drawing more and more criticism from the community. “This disregard for Margibi District 3’s needs in favor of her family’s interests exemplifies troubling behavior,” declared local citizen Sumo Singbeh, who characterized her activities as self-serving.
