PHOTO: Embattled NTAL President Mary Nyumah
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
The Sixth Judicial Circuit Court under gavel of Judge J Kennedy Peabody has placed a preliminary injunction against the Mary Nyumah, President of the National Teachers Association of Liberia (NTAL) and Nathaniel Tobah, Treasurer of the NTAL.
The court records in our possession said the preliminary injunction is growing out of the case of action of declarative judgement filed by the majority bloc of the national executive committee of the NTAL.
According to the court records, the petitioners are Brown Bardee, Vice President of the NTAL southeastern region; James Miller, Vice President, north central region; and Albertha Fagan-Coker, Assistant National Coordinator, non-teaching staff.
Others are Darkpay Johnson, private school representative; Daniel Dargba, National Coordinator, non-teaching staff; Erison Boakai, Principal Representative; and Margret Flomo, immediate past President, NTAL.
The writ also prohibits Madam Nyumah and Mr. Tobah from any form of interference with the NTAL accounts at the International Bank of Liberia, the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment, the United Bank of Africa.
The writ summoned Madam Nyuman and Mr. Tobah, both of whom are respondents and all the petitioners on the 14th of May, 2022 as failure will render the default judgment any of the parties.
The petitioners, in a seven count, alleged that they the majority bloc have passed a vote of no confidence in the respondents Mary Nyumah and Nathaniel Tobah, because of financial malpractices, impropriety and administrative malfeasance.
The petitioners also maintained that they invoked Article V, Section of the NTAL Constitution, which states among others things principal of which is that 2/3 of the current eleven voting members of the national executive committee can call an emergency meeting, whereas 50 percent plus one of the members with voting right or six members of the current NEC constitutes a quorum.
According to the petitioners, the act by the co respondent, Mary Nyumah to shield the financial officer and head of the NTAL administration from being audited for the past four years coupled with disregard of the financial policy and the NTAL constitution to the extent that she withdrew money from the account of the association without accountability and converted same into her personal use.
The writ of injunction contended that the Madam Nyumah chose to suspend without salary the Secretary General contrary to the by-laws and constitution of the NTAL.
She is also accused of maliciously including the names of the majority members of the NEC without their full knowledge which is fraudulent and falsification
The petitioners claimed that the conduct of the Madam Nyumah by exercising unilateral decisions in violations of the NTAL by -laws and constitution coupled with several illegal withdrawal from the association’s account without accountability. They were alsoaccused of shielding and preventing proper account and audit of the administration as to why money was withdrawn from the organization’s account in the wake of the planned national convention later this year
The petitioners therefore prayed the court to grant the respondents to give the account of money withdraw from the NTAL account and begged the court to prevent them from running the day-to-day operations of the association pending the determination of the case.