By Patrick Tokpah
(contributor Bong)
Several callers on radio talk shows in Bong County have described Representative Josiah Marvin Cole and the CDC chairperson for Bong County, Sayblee Menebai Varyao Weyea as major embarrassments or obstacles in Bong County to the re-election of President George Weah in the 2023 General and Presidential Elections.
The callers made special reference to the Saturday nomination of President Weah when the crisis took a turn for the worse when Rep. Cole of the National Patriotic Party (NPP) and Chairman Weyea of the Congress of Democratic Change held separate programs to endorse President Weah ‘s second term bid in the county.
The callers said partisans of the Coalition were left confused on Saturday as to which program to attend, after Weyea had called on his supporters to converge at the David Kuyoun Sports Stadium to attend a program he organized, following Cole’s announcement to his supporters to attend his program at his party’s headquarters in Gbarnga.
The Bong County radio callers said the crisis is deepening because Weyea announced his intentions to contest against Cole in October thus accusing the lawmaker of “undermining” the party in the county for his personal aggrandizement.
On several occasions, Rep. Cole has said that Weyea is being pushed by some people within the Congress of Democratic Change to disrespect him (Cole) despite all that he has done in the county for the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change.
“If elections were held today for the seat of District 3, he is no match to me. From the day I was elected, I have been and continue to be engaged with my people. I’m not worried about someone who can’t influence his siblings to vote for him,” Rep. Cole added.
The CDC Bong Chapter has been faced with internal wrangling in less than two years, after losing the 2020 Senatorial Election in Bong and that was its third defeat in the county since the 2017 Presidential and Legislative Elections.
For now, there are fears among the party sympathizers that the current internal wrangling may affect the party’s chances in Bong County if the party does not put its house in order in the coming months.
“The crisis is bewildering, and if not put into check promptly, may destroy the party completely. It is obvious that the party lacks a crisis management mechanism which is needed for party cohesion in a democratic setting,” one partisan stated from his observation.
Similarly, other observers have raised their concerns, especially on the seeming silence of the Vice President and native of the county, Jewel Howard-Taylor on the way forward.
