PHOTO: NDC-USA Leadership (Insert L-R) Dr. James B. Josiah, Cllr. James Verdier, Ambulai Johnson, MPH
At the close of the recent Consultative Meeting of the North America Chapter of the National Democratic Coalition of Liberia (NDC), a new corps of leaders was elected to fill vacant positions and steer the affairs of the Chapter in the Diaspora.
The meeting elected Cllr. James Nyepan Verdier, former head of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) under the former Ellen Johnson Sirleaf regime, as Chairman of the NDC-USA Chapter. Others elected are Dr. James B. Josiah as Co-Chairman for Operations. Others elected were Kollie Kpator, Vice-Chairman for Administration; Jefferson Duolupeh Konah, Vice Chairman for Inter-Party Affairs; Emmanuel Woods, Director of Religious Affairs; and, Ambulai Johnson as General Secretary of the NDC’s Diaspora Chapter, according to a press release.
The Consultative Meeting also adopted a Resolution which, among others, addressed the current political atmosphere in Liberia and mandated the NDC national leadership to strengthen engagement with other political parties for the formation of a new General Coalition on the basis of a unified political principle, philosophy, and national interest.
Also attending the Consultative Meeting was Professor Alaric Tokpa, the NDC National Chairman who is visiting the US from Liberia. Also in attendance were Dr. Nyanquoi Kargbo, Elder leader of the NDC, and Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan, the NDC’s International Vice Chairman.
In his remark, the NDC National Chairman Alaric Tokpa said that, “Liberia is facing enormous challenges as there are several uncontrollable forces out there; however, I admonished you not to agonize, but to organize, as under certain circumstance there are real possibilities to succeed in the struggle.”
On his part, Dr. Nyan, the NDC’s International Vice Chairman, congratulated the new leadership and said that “there has been lot of confusion in the country regarding the body politic of Liberia, and it is our duty and responsibility as social democrats to clarify such and present a clearer roadmap for a more democratic process in Liberia.”
In his remarks, the new NDC-North America Chairman, James Nyepan Verdier thanked the Meeting for his election to head the Chapter. He added that “we have a huge task ahead of us and need to work hard in order to return the country [Liberia] to normalcy.”
Verdier who holds law degrees from the University of Liberia and the Notre Dame University in Indiana is an advocate for human rights and against graft. He was one time Vice Standard Bearer (to the late SUP Standard Bearer, Wuo Gabe Tappia) of the Student Vanguard Unification Party (SUP) of the University of Liberia, hence a Vice President of the University of Liberia Students Union (ULSU) in the late 80s.
Joining in appreciation, Dr. James B. Josiah, a former pro-democracy student activist, expressed gratitude to the NDC membership and meeting for his election as Co-Chairman. Josiah, who holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Temple University, said that the current politics in Liberia is “loaded with self-centeredness, whereby some political actors have no concern for the future of Liberia and the next generation,” adding that, “we must approach our involvement with maturity that which is lacking in the current politics in the country and lacking in the government as well.”
The NDC is Liberia’s social democratic political coalition that was founded in 2011. The coalition comprises of the New Democratic Alternative for Liberia Movement (The NEW DEAL Movement whose motto is “LIBERIA FIRST”), the Free Democratic Party (FDP), and other social democratic political groups, movements, and entities in Liberia.
In its recent pronouncements at the heels of the collapse of the “Collaborating Political Parties (CPP),” the NDC has expressed openness to working with other political groups for the formation of a new and stronger coalition that will operate on institutional principles and advance the best interest of the Liberian people. The NDC holds its national Congress in the first quarter of this year.