Monrovia-President George Weah has described the one day interactive forum with opposition leaders in the country as the surest way to genuine peace and unity for Liberia.
President Weah said the meeting was also intended to solicit views of opposition leaders on issues that are affecting the growth and development of the nation.
“This meeting is a frank discussion; I want everyone to freely express themselves on issues and to provide suggestions that would help us in working together in the interest of our country, Liberia.”
In his opening statement at the start of the meeting Thursday, the Chief Executive stressed that the recommendation proffered by opposition leaders will serve as a driving force for the country.
President Weah also mentioned that Liberia’s problems require collective views that point towards addressing challenges facing the country.
Some opposition politicians have heavily descended on President George Weah minutes after the interactive forum with some describing the meeting as good for nothing.
In fact, the chairman of the Liberty Party, Steve Zargo, who was denied from making a point during the deliberations on grounds only political leaders were to permitted to speak – and just for three minutes – believes President Weah called the gathering to paint a good image to the international community.
“Let’s be frank, it was not an organized one, there was no set agenda; it was just a generic open-ended meeting that didn’t have means and bounds. The intention was good but they didn’t organize it well. But in my mind, the intention was because he’s preparing to go the UN General Assembly so he thought to show to the international community that he has good relations with the opposition political parties,” Senator Zargo told FrontPageAfrica.
Speaking on OK FM after the forum, Darius Dillon, Jacob Jallah, and Amos Tweh all of the opposition bloc said the forum with the opposition as something that will not produce the needed expectation, due to the minimum time allotted to each opposition leader.
In their view, the call for the interactive forum with the opposition political parties was a good idea but may not make any difference primarily because of how it was conducted.
Mohammed Ali, Assistant Secretary-General of the former ruling Unity Party, said he expected a meeting that would have given the opposition parties enough time to speak on issues bordering on the survival of the country.
However, Deputy Information Minister, Eugene Fahngon blasted the opposition politicians, terming them as a group of people who do not mean well for the country. President Weah is also on the record for calling critics of his government as “enemies of the state”.
But in response Deputy Information Minister, Eugene Fahngon blasted the opposition politicians terming them as a group of people who do mean for well for the country.
Minister Fahngon said it was important that Dillon goes back to school, but Jacob Jallah has taken exception, saying Fahngon doesn’t sound well whenever the new moon surfaces.
