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“I’ve broken no law”: Weah defends his LEITI appointment

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By our Staff Writer

Liberia’s President George Manneh Weah has said he has done nothing wrong by appointing former lawmaker Gabriel Nyankan as Head of Secretariat at the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI).

President Weah defended his action at a news conference in Monrovia on Thursday when he said “I have broken no law”.

LEITI is part of the EITI- a global Standard to promote the open and accountable management of extractive resources.

The Liberian leader’s staunch defense of the controversial appointment follows serious criticisms and condemnation of the appointment from local and international transparency groups.

The Act establishing the states that only the LEITI Multi-stakeholder Steering Group (MSG) can appoint or remove the Head of Secretariat

But President Weah told Journalist on Thursday that he was exercising his constitutional power in his appointment at the LEITI, as the Liberian  constitution gives the President the power to appointment officials of various agencies of government.

Last week, armed police accompanied the former lawmaker Nyenkan to the LEITI office near the country’s Executive Mansion to ensure that the Head of Secretariat Konah Karmo hand over to him.

Nyenkan told Journalists that he invited the police because Karmoh had refused to respect the President’s order, as Karmoh said that his post was a tenure contract given to him by the MSG.

Karmoh was hired by the MSG after a competitive recruitment process involving other Liberians.

After the drama at the LEITI offices last week,  the MSG had an emergency meeting and called on President Weah to reconsider his decision to “enable the entity fully focus on the crucial task at hand before the country’s next validation due in a few months.”

In its statement on Monday, Global Witness said: “President Weah must immediately withdraw his appointment of Gabriel Nyenkan, allowing Konah Karmo to resume his duties as LEITI Head of Secretariat,” said Simon Clydesdale, extractive industries campaign leader at Global Witness.

“LEITI’s independence is fundamental to its mandate and for the political credibility of Liberia, it cannot be the playground of political appointments.”

Before Global Witness condemnation, local civil society groups also publically criticized President Weah’s appointment of Nyenkan as LEITI’s Head of Secretariat, including the Center for Transparency and Accountability (CENTAL).

“The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) is disturbed by the action of President George M. Weah to appoint the Head of Secretariat of LEITI, in violation of the Act creating the integrity institution,” CENTAL’s Executive Director, Anderson Miamen said in a press statement last week.

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