Unity Party today officially announced its removal from the Collaborating Political Party (CPP). Speaking at a special press conference in Monrovia today, Unity Party Political Leader and former Vice President Amb. Joseph Boakai said the Unity Party redrawing from the CPP is a result of failure to solve the many problems within the CPP. Amb. Boakia said, after the parties held consultations with eminent persons, religious leaders, CPP Political leaders, the legal team for a way forward, none yielded favorable results in order to solve the problem.
According to him, the ANC refusal to collaborate effectively with the CPP does not allow the UP to fully participate in the CPP. “You are all aware that political disagreements are resolved through negotiations or consensus. Our willingness to continue a CPP depended largely on our honest interactions and cooperation. Sadly, as of now, we see no way forward and so we have all decided to go our separate ways”, Amb. Boakai explains.
Amb. Boakai noted that though their supporters are disappointed in them, and the manner in which the collaboration goes, the Unity Party is working with other political parties and individuals for a more formidable and respectable partnership to ensure President Weah is a one-term president, and restore the hope of Liberians.
Addressing a press conference at the Head Quarter of the Unity Party in Monrovian on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, the Unity Party political leader said, it is not only disheartening but equally disappointing and this has distracted the Unity Party from their responsibilities to the Liberian people. He added that the Unity Party took over the rotational leadership of the CPP on October 15th, 2021, making it exactly half the period of their tenure yesterday.
He explained that the UP took over the CPP leadership with a good feeling of an opportunity to reconcile the already fractured collaboration and repair relations over the alleged altered framework document, as per their colleague, the ALP Political Leader, Benoni Wilfred Uray. Amb. Boakai noted that already a committee report of all parties had resulted in bedlam, with the public fully engaged.
The Unity Party complained that he personally attended all previous leadership turnovers, events, and meetings of the CPP in a show of support for every leadership and the desire to work together. “I even campaigned with all collaboration Party leaders. You would also recall that during the turnover to me, all but the ANC leader and members attended, even though I had called Mr. Cummings personally the day before, and he responded by saying he was already in the United States to attend a meeting”, Amb Boakai reported.
According to him, the first meeting of the National Advisory Council, the highest decision-making organ of the CPP, could not hold because ANC had refused to attend. According to the rules of the NAC, the absence of a single party from the four constituent parties constitutes no quorum because there must be at least a member from each Party to constitute a quorum to conduct business. He informed pressmen that the excuse then was that there was no agenda and no framework document to cause a meeting, even though a citation was sent way beforehand.