By Bill W. Cooper
With just six months into the Unity Party-led government, former President George Weah has announced a surprising assurance of contesting for the presidency in the 2029 elections.
“I will be a candidate in 2029; I will answer the call of my people because President Boakai doesn’t have any knowledge of running the country and has damaged everything we built over the years and worst of it all, we cannot even see anything from this government after 100 Days in office,” that was Weah’s exact words.
Weah, pronouncement over the weekend when he phoned in on the local talk show “Face-The-Issues” in Monrovia revealed his intention which many believed was a summersault of his previous statement regarding his political intention.
He asserted, “Now, I am beginning to hear the calls of my people and I am ready to answer them because I believe that I still have a lot to offer to the people of Liberia, and I am willing to serve them once again as their President.”
However, Weah’s latest disclosure comes with applause from his fanatics while his critics take it as a ‘dead on arrival’ statement because he had previously stated that he would not seek re-election after being defeated by President Joseph Boakai in 2023; leaving his second term bid in jeopardy, but it seems Weah’s political recess is over and is ready return to rekindle wealth.
It can be recalled that in his Sunday, January 14, 2024, message at his Forkey Klon Jlateh Fellowship, Weah while on God’s pulpit declared that he would quit politics at age 65 and would not be re-contesting the Presidency in 2029 at which time he would be 63 years old.
He stated that in six years he would be 63 and would not want to be active in politics beyond 65 years, explaining, “Right now I’m 57 and our retirement age is 65. Six years from now, I will be 63, and I can’t work for just two more years.”
“So, the best thing we can do now is to promote peace and prosperity for this country and nobody is going to drag me into politics until I reach 90 years because I have a family to protect and cater to and that will be something of my focus moving forward,” Weah proclaimed then.
The records show that during his time in office as President, Weah executed several reforms aimed at improving the lives of the citizenry including improving education, healthcare, infrastructure, and peace, and his efforts were widely praised by his supporters and some international partners.
But his presidency was not without its challenges, as he encountered serious criticism for his handling of the economy with many Liberians struggling to make ends meet, fight against corruption, several mysterious killings, and lack of transparency and accountability among others.
Despite these challenges and his officials’ plundering of the country’s resources, Weah remains popular among many Liberians, who see him as the kind of leader who somehow brought the Liberian presidency closer to the ordinary Liberians with a willing mind to improving the country.
Weah, speaking from the US in appreciation of the massive turnout of his supporters in commemoration of his Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) “Turning Setback to Comeback rally,” said, “The CDC has been a way of life and a bastion of hope for thousands of Liberians who believe in our grassroots agenda. We cannot afford to let down their hopes and aspirations.”
“We therefore thank you for staying the course and for committing to continue striving for a better Liberia your gathering in such large numbers, notwithstanding our absence from the country and the extremely terrible weather, demonstrates your love for the institution and yearning for an alternative agenda,” he intoned.
Weah further, “We shall be returning to Liberia soon, reinvigorated and rejuvenated to continue fighting for a better country. Let me also thank other political party leaders for their presence at the program. The CDC thank you for the show of opposition solidarity and urges all who believe in a united and indivisible country to continue to collaborate in the interest of our people.”
According to him, Liberians were yearning for change but mistakenly voted UP Boakai but to date, it is glaring that President Boakai was not the change so desired by Liberians and had carried the country backward within just six months of his leadership.
He roared that the UP government under the leadership of President Boakai had nothing to offer Liberians but were instead, interested in making themselves rich to the detriment of the ordinary citizens who could barely feed themselves.
He added, “At least it is glaring that Liberians made a bad choice by voting for Boakai who lied by saying there will be no more business as usual but as I speak, it is more business as usual and nothing is happening in the country to improve the livelihoods of citizens.”
“And as leader of the CDC, I am committed to providing that leadership my people desired. I will be in the country soon to begin engaging my people and speaking against the ills in the country, ensuring that we correct the wrongs in 2029,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, with his announcement to run for the presidency in 2029, whether Weah or the CDC not as a Coalition will be able to secure a term in office remains the debate.
