LBA Inducts New Corps of Officers …As AB Samukai Stresses Immediate Constitutional Reform

The newly elected officers of the Liberia Basketball Association (LBA) have been inducted into office to steer the affairs of basketball for the next four years.
The induction ceremony was held over the weekend at the open-air Sports Commission on Broad Street at which time Youth and Sports Minister, D. Zeogar Wilson pledged the MYS unflinching support to the new leadership. Serving as induction officer, Minister Wilson urged the LBA’s new leadership to reach out to the outgoing team and ensure that they (new officers) reconcile basketball stakeholders.
Min. Wilson warned against complacency, and therefore encouraged the new batch of LBA’s leaders to continue from where the former officials stopped so as to take the sport to the next level. He reaffirmed government’s fullest commitment and readiness to work with the new team at the LBA.
For his part, newly inducted President of the Liberia Basketball Association, Abraham Samukai, immediately stressed the need for constitutional reform at the local basketball house. President Samukai insisted that the LB’s constitution needs an urgent work and as such, he wants to ensure that such legal instrument is properly structured as a sign of immediate reform.
The LBA’s President at that point named a Constitutional Reform committee which according to him has been charged with the due responsibility to produce a new constitution for the LBA. This, he said, will help in championing the needed reform at the local basketball house and that it will serve as an institutional guide. Moving forward, President Samukai re-echoed his leadership readiness to transform Liberia’s basketball programs. He promised to reach out to the outgoing Rufus Anderson team so as ensure that the reform work is done in consultation with them.
President Samukai at the same time, call on his new team to live up to the expectation of the stakeholders.
Those inducted were, Abraham Samukai, President, Potter, Vice President for Administration, Henry Fahnbulleh, Vice President for Operations, Sampson Bernard, Treasurer, Comfort Wilson, Financial Secretary, and Hannah Harris, Chaplain,
The Liberia Basketball Association got a new leadership for the next four years following a recent election that brought Abraham Samukai to the helm of the association as president.
The elections were held in December 2019 at the Palm Springs Hotel in Congo Town.
Samukai replaces incumbent Rufus Anderson, who was disqualified by the elections commission headed by Moifee Kanneh. The commission’s decision to disqualify Anderson, along with his vice-presidential mate for operations, Bruce Quaye, and treasurer, Jairus Harris, stemmed from what Kanneh termed as a fraud.
According to the commission, the Anderson team reported that its registration fees were deposited into the association’s account, instead of making direct payment to the Elections Commission’s account as agreed.Upon verification, it was discovered that the money was deposited at the association’s LBDI Bank on Nov. 23, only to be withdrawn an hour later without the commission’s knowledge.
Such an act, according to Kanneh, was fraudulent and a basis for disqualification of all parties involved.
With this bold decision by the commission, the way was paved for Abraham Samukai to run uncontested as president.
His running mates, Henry Fahnbulleh for vice president for operations, Sampson Bernard for treasurer, Comfort Wilson for financial secretary, and Hannah Harris as chaplain, also sailed to victories unopposed.
As was expected, Anderson, who was seeking a third term along with his running mates, contested the commission’s decision on grounds that it lacked any authority or mandate to check the accounts of the association without its knowledge, and that the commission overstepped its bounds as a neutral party.
Anderson also accused the commission’s chair of plotting to oust him, and therefore withdrew from the process until further investigation.
With a ‘no confidence’ stance against the commission, Anderson, therefore, questioned the possibility of a free and fair election.
“As president of the Liberia Basketball Association, I have no trust in the election commission going further. As election commission, they were tasked to run the elections and not to go behind the association to check in their account. They exhibited the real fraudulent act and cannot be trusted with
the elections. Therefore, I recused myself from the congress,” Anderson said after being disqualified.
Anderson’s recusal did not, however, mean a constitutional end to Congress, as the association’s statute also grants the right to preside in the president’s absence to the vice president for administration. Therefore, Jake Kabakollie, assumed the role of presiding over the Congress.
Just as many thought the day-long Congress was nearing completion with balloting about to commence, Kabakollie announced he could no longer continue as presiding because other candidates had been accused. Kabakollie’s withdrawal was also insufficient to abort the Congress.
The stakeholders constituting majority continued to push ahead with a vote on whether to continue or abort. The result was a rejection of Kabakollie’s stance. Twenty-five stakeholders voted in favor of continuation of Congress, while 20 voted to end Congress.
One after another, incumbent leaders, from the president to the secretary, recused themselves, leaving Congress with no choice but to appoint one of its Executive Committee members, Alfred Sayon, to preside.
With this move successfully executed, and a presiding officer appointed, the way was now paved for the resumption of Congress and the holding of elections.
Supporters of Rufus Anderson and his team angrily stormed out of Congress as Sayon ordered the commencement of voting. The result was a landslide victory for Samukai and his entire team.
Meanwhile, the former leadership of the Liberia Basketball Association (LBA) failed to show-up at the induction ceremony. Former President Anderson, had consistently insisted that he remains president of the LBA despite the elections results. Anderson recently accused the MYS of political interference in the association’s affairs and that he had contacted FIBA about the situation.