3 Mins Read
The pro-youth advocacy group, Youth United for Progress and Action (YOPA) says it differs with assertion in an article written by former commissioner of the erstwhile Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) John H. T. Stewart with the intention to thwart the Speakership bid of Deputy House Speaker Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa.
YOPA notes the issues mentioned in former TRC Commissioner Stewart’s article regarding the 2004 case in the United States when Cllr. Koffa served as Town Manager of Zebulon, a small town in North Carolina, was resolved through the court of law where the lawyer had to restitute monies reportedly taken by his office in the United States at the time.
The pro-youth advocacy group iterates that Stewart’s call at this time to deny Cllr. Koffa the opportunity of being elected Speaker of the incoming 55th Legislature is a case of double jeopardy because he has already honored the court’s ruling and paid back monies reportedly taken from his clients in the U. S. several years back.
YOPA also wonders why is former TRC Commissioner Stewart drawing Cllr. Koffa to the daily workings of the International Law Group (ILG) in 2023, a firm he resigned from since 2016 as managing partner before he was even elected as Grand Kru Country Electoral District #2.
Recently, International Law Group (ILG) had announced that one of its Managing Partners, Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa resigned from the firm since 2016 when he was appointed as Minister of State without portfolio by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The firm further stated that Cllr. Koffa has not had any active clients with the firm since then, and including his election as a member of the House of Representative.
YOPA thinks, former Commissioner Stewart’s assertions are far from the truth that Cllr. Koffa is still with the ILG, which reported has contracts with several public and private institutions. Additionally, the ILG release statement saying “We have never represented the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP), the National Port Authority (NPA) and the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), and further noted, “We do not currently represent maritime. We do have not a corporate government and litigation practice”, the press release from the ILG stressed.
Meanwhile, the pro-youth and advocacy group says it understands the propaganda being waged against Deputy Speaker Koffa because he stands out the best among the rest who have
declared their intentions to vie for the Speaker position of the incoming 55th Legislature.
YOPA once again calls on members of the incoming 55th Legislature elect Deputy Speaker Koffa as Speaker of the 55th Legislature for the next six years because he is best suited to ably represent the interests of Liberians in the discharge of his duties when elected as Speaker.
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