Grand Gedeh county Superintendent Alex Chersia Grant has fired back at Senator Thomas Yaya Nimely for his recent outburst during the visit of Vice President Jeremiah Koung to the county.
By Obediah Johnson
Making remarks in the presence of VP Koung, Senator Nimely accused Superintendent Grant of unilaterally steering the affairs of the county without the involvement of the county’s legislative caucus.
He claimed that on numerous occasions, Superintendent Grant has failed to invite legislators for developmental and other initiatives being carried out in the county.
Senator Nimely also accused the UP-led government of doing nothing for the people of Grand Gedeh since its inception.
“My Superintendent is sitting there, and he allowed me to be uninformed about your presence. As the caucus chair in this county, it is not you (Grant) that supposed to escort the Vice President around this county; you should have been behind me, you inform me, and I inform the Vice President. This is not strange. This is a level of disrespect that we continue to enjoy in this county because nothing is happening,” Senator Nimely stated.
But speaking to Reporters in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh over the weekend, Superintendent Grant pointed out that Senator Nimely’s verbal attacks against his character was a clear show of what he described as a “misplacement of aggression and” he (Nimely) holds against VP Koung.
He said the outburst was unjustifiable and harbored hatred against his character. Superintendent Grant recalled that since his ascendancy, Senator Nimely has not supported his administration, an action which reinforces his previous stance, against his confirmation by the Senate.
He pointed out that despite the lack of support, he has continuously sought to work with and extended invitations to Senator Nimely to attend events, including the recent dedication ceremony of a hospital by VP Koung in the county.
“The outburst from him (Senator Nimely) was unnecessary during the visit of the Vice President.
However, I know that there is a situation of misplacement; that’s misplaced aggression, which was not targeted at me; he only used that because it is a song that he always sang. But he displayed his hatred for the Vice President. Thank God the Vice President did not take it seriously,” he noted.
He observed that Senator Nimely does not clearly understand the separation of powers guaranteed under the 1986 Liberian constitution.
“Senator Yaya Nimely, at this time, should be able to understand what we call the separation of powers. Executive functions are different from legislative function; where he (Nimely) was saying that he should be the one I should speak through to speak to the Vice President, no; if you read the constitution, you will understand the role of the vice juror of the President,” he noted.
He stressed that though he is not disturbed by the comments made by the Grand Gedeh county lawmaker, he would not go against or engage in acts against the executive, in keeping with the separation of powers enshrined in the constitution.
“We invited the caucus, and the radio stations can clearly attest to that. There is no way that we isolated him; I can prove that through my WhatsApp. To what extent we intend to collaborate, we have even built a WhatsApp group chat. Many days, I call Senator Nimely on birthdays or seasons, but he does not pick up his calls. There is no day I disrespected Senator Yaya, but Senator Yaya needs to take some time to read the constitution,” he noted.
Superintendent Grant pledged that, despite being an appointee of the executive, he would continue to collaborate with other elected and appointed leaders of the county.
He cautioned leaders against preaching divisive politics and excluding themselves from the developmental drive of Grand Gedeh.
He called on elected and appointed leaders of Grand Gedeh to put aside their political differences and work together for the betterment of the county and its citizens.
Superintendent Grant maintained that if a positive image of Grand Gedeh must be built, leaders of the county should disengage from targeting one another and forge a partnership to undertake ventures that would positively affect the lives of the locals, regardless of their political affiliation.
Meanwhile, Superintendent Grant has extended gratitude to Vice President Jeremiah Koung for his recent visit to the county to dedicate and break grounds for projects in Grand Gedeh. He also lauded the locals for their support and cooperation during the visit of VP Koung to the county.
He called for unity among the county’s leaders and citizens.
The post Liberia: Supt. Grant Fires Back At Senator Nimely; Cautions Leaders Against Divisive Politics appeared first on FrontPageAfrica.
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