In partnership with the Olaitan Akanle Autism Center, the AME University, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, held an elaborate program to commemorate World Autism Day.
April 2 was designated by the United Nation ( UN) as World Autism Day.
It called on member states of the UN to stage appropriate programs and activities to raise awareness about autistic individuals around the world.
In commemoration of the day , the President of the AME University Rev. Alvin Attah called for collective action to promote and protect the wellbeing of people living with autism.
“We, at AME University , are a community of inclusion that’s why our institution is proud to partner with Olaitan Akanle Autism Center to celebrate this day as we together promote a culture that embraces neurodiversity.” President Attah pointed out.
In a video documentary, the Olaitan Akanle Autism Center hailed the celebration of World Autism Day as a groundbreaking move to raise awesome about autism and help stimulate national conversations about care and support for individuals living with autism.
Delivering a special statement, Moses Jarbo, Professor Psychology at AME University called for collective efforts to curb stigma and discrimination against people faced with autism.
The president of the National Social Workers of Liberia , Dr. J. Kekurah Foday stressed the need for the training of more professional care givers to help cater for people living with autism.
A key highlight of the celebration was an outreach visit to the Antoinette Tubman Cheshire Home in Sinkor, Monrovia where the Olaitan Akanle Autism Center and the AME University families jointly made a donation.
They also shared cheerful moments with residents and staff of the Cheshire home.
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LPRC Redundant Employees Frustrated Over Court’s Delay In Ruling
By Precious D. Freeman
A group of redundant employees from the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) has expressed frustration over the prolonged delay in the Supreme Court’s ruling on their petition, which has been before the Bench for nearly seven years.
The aggrieved former employees, in a written petition to Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Gyapay Yuoh on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, lamented that justice was being denied due to the court’s inaction.
The case, which has lingered in the Judiciary for approximately 19 years, stems from the downsizing exercise carried out by LPRC in 2006 under the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
The workforce was reduced from 750 to 250 employees, leaving more than 400 individuals without jobs.
According to the group, after several pre-trial conferences, Labour Court Judge Comfort Natt ruled in favor of LPRC, prompting them to seek judicial review from the Supreme Court in October 2018.
The case was first argued before the Court on December 17, 2018, under the leadership of former Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor, but a ruling was reserved.
A second argument was heard during the Supreme Court’s March Term in 2023 under Chief Justice Yuoh, yet no decision has been handed down.
The former employees claim that the protracted delay has resulted in the deaths of 92 of their colleagues due to stress and frustration, leaving their families in a state of despair.
“We call upon the Supreme Court to uphold the high moral ground and deliver a ruling in our case because justice delayed is justice denied,” the petition read.
The complainants maintain that after their redundancy, LPRC continued to recruit new employees; a move they believe was politically motivated and amounted to wrongful dismissal.
“We, the affected LPRC redundant employees of 2006, subsequently filed a formal complaint before the Labour Court of Liberia on April 27, 2009, against the Management of LPRC, alleging unfair labor practices and wrongful dismissal,” they recalled.
The former employees are now urging the Supreme Court to act swiftly and deliver a long-overdue ruling that could provide them with long-sought justice and relief.