Monrovia – Senators Daniel Naytaahn of Gbapolu and Thomas Grupee of Nimba County, were seen and heard on Thursday arguing with Senator Morris Saytumah of Bomi County, who chairs the House Committee on Ways, Means and Finance demanding the payroll of the Senate.
The Senators demand is in the wake of media reports that the Vice President, Madam Jewel Howard Taylor, have been receiving benefits of the Office of Bong County and that of the Office of the Vice President. The Senate Press Bureau has since denied that the report, but have failed to make public the ledger containing lawmakers’ signatures.
Like Naytaahn, Senator Grupee of Nimba County raised questions about who has been receiving benefits belonging to the Office of the Bong County Senator since it became vacant on January 22.
“We will request a financial report from the Ways and Means committee; we need to see the payroll. We want to know whether President Weah and Vice President Taylor were removed from the payroll otherwise who was taking the money?”
In response to Naytaahn, Saytumah claimed that the incoming senators don’t have any claims to benefits for the two offices for the January, February, March, April, May, June and July. He, however, failed to say who has been receiving the salaries and benefits for the two offices for the past six months.
In accordance with normal practice in the Legislatures, staffs of lawmakers, who are replaced either by death, Election, or expulsion received three months benefits from government. Recently FrontPageAfrica reported that Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor is still collecting gas coupons entitled to the position of Bong County Senator while at the same time receiving entitlements to the Office of Vice President.
When contacted, the Director of Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Solomon Ware, could not confirm or deny the information.
Vice President Howard-Taylor served as Senator for Bong County from 2006 until she was elected Vice President on the ticket of the Coalition for Democratic Change in the 2017 Presidential General Elections.
According to the source, the Vice President’s action has claimed the attention of members of the Senate, who are demanding a probe by the Senate Pro-Tempore.
In another Senate news, the Liberian Senate Thursday inducted Senators-elect Henrique Tokpa and Saah Joseph of the Coalition for Democratic Change and Independent candidate following their certification as winners of by-election induction comes days after they were certificated by the National Elections Commission.
The National Elections Commission Monday, August 13, 2018 certificated the two newly elected Senators of Montserrado County, Saah Hardy Joseph of the Congress for Democratic Coalition, CDC and Dr. Henrique Flomo Tokpa, Independent Candidate.
