The premium Liberia local media outlet, “FrontPage Africa” is reporting  that the postponement of the confirmation hearing of the Foreign Affairs Minister-designate, Sara Beysolow Nyanti on Thursday February 1, was intended to guarantee the withdrawal of her nomination by President Boakai.

Accordingly, the closed proximity between President Boakai and Madam Nyanti, in a short period of time, has claimed the attention of some executives of the UP which   feared  she would be selected as a possible successor of President Boakai, while  Senator Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence of Grand Bassa County also has an ambition to replace President Boakai come 2029.

Report in the   FrontPageAfrica article says that  Unity Party Senators had planned to embarrass Beysolow by asking the Minister-designate embarrassing questions and even coming  up with claims that they  did not have time to review the questionable academic credentials prior to the hearing. 

FPA claims that Multiple sources have confirmed to them that  on  Thursday, Senators Dillon, Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, and a few other Unity Party stalwarts had a meeting with President Boakai in the morning and were reportedly encouraged to reject the nomination. 

One, representing the Coalition for Democratic Change, which led the country for the past six years, speaking strictly on condition of anonymity on Thursday, told FrontPageAfrica that they were not interested in doing the dirty work of the Unity Party lawmakers.

Said the lawmaker: “We decided that since they are having misunderstandings among themselves, let them decide what they want and come back. We have been working with them, but they have to settle their differences. For example, the Finance profession is key to the Liberia Revenue Authority position, but we ignored that during the confirmation of Dorbor Jallah. He did not have it but based on his past performance we cooperated. The act that created LRA says you must have advanced professional service. So, we overlooked that. They are chasing the woman because it’s someone’s interest. All the CDC lawmakers are supporting the woman, and we will confirm her– once she is given a chance to appear before the Senate. If you’re not ready to confirm her, don’t try to make her look bad. They don’t want to support one another. Everyone’s fighting. We have sympathy for her based on the way she’s being treated.”

Claims & Counter Claims

Since the inauguration of President Boakai, partisans of the UP have been mudslinging each other over jobs and personal attacks and character assassinations have intensified.

Reacting to the accusation on her official Facebook page, Madam Nyanti vowed to defend her credentials when appointed to serve the Liberian people. “I have read the post and heard the lies and disinformation being spued. When I am given the chance to serve the people of Liberia as I have served other nations, I will be prepared to defend my record and the legitimate and hard-earned credentials before the Senate.”

Madam Nyanti, once an official at the Liberian Ministry of Health, joined the United Nations System in 2003. By the time she retired 20 years later, she had worked her way through and served in some of the high-profile positions within the UN.

The last, perhaps, the tedious and highest-ranking position was in South Sudan where she spent 18 months serving as the Deputy Special Representative to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), UN Resident Coordinator in South Sudan and Humanitarian Coordinator in the East African nation. Before her retirement recently, she frequently visited Liberia, launching several developmental and humanitarian initiatives.