The Civil Society Network of Liberia (CSNL) has sharply reacted to allegations of corruption levied against the president of the Liberia Football Association (LFA), Mustapha Raji.
The group also stated that it was troubled by the allegations from some former executives of the LFA of working in cohort with the contractor (CEASF) that constructed the LFA headquarters to inflate the cost of construction by an additional US$319,000.
It can be recalled that Raji and team were placed under the spotlight from several former LFA executives for deliberately inflating the funds intended for the construction of the LFA headquarters for personal use or aggrandizement.
But the CSNL, in a release issued over the weekend, said, given the nature of the allegation, launched a full-scale investigation involving all stakeholders related to the contract, intended to ascertain the facts surrounding the accusation.
According to the CSNL, findings from its investigation established that the additional cost of US$319,000 for the construction of the LFA Headquarters was approved by the LFA Selection Committee, describing the corruption allegation as untrue.
“The company that constructed the LFA Headquarters, CESAF Liberia, has been established as Liberia’s most renowned and reputable real estate construction company in Liberia in the last ten years.
And based on the integrity and honest principle of CESAF, the company has won several contracts involving the construction of buildings of major institutions in Liberia, like CBL, NASSCORP, and the renovation works on the Executive Mansion,” the release said.
According to the CSNL statement, the management of CESAF, through its Chief Executive Officer, Koefee Woiwor, informed its investigation that the additional US$319,000 was due to the increase in the prices of materials, intended for quality construction and furnishing of the LFA Headquarters.
The release indicated that the consultant for the LFA Headquarter construction contract also affirmed that there was no act of bribery between LFA President Raji and CESAF Liberia, as is being insinuated by some former executives of the LFA.
The statement maintained, “The additional cost of US$319,000 was necessary to offset additional cost of construction materials since the construction works commenced three years after the signing of the first contract with the original cost.”
“So, as per our investigation, the bribery allegation against Raji also reveals that the allegation is a concocted scheme being designed by some former LFA executives to undermine the administration Raji’s leadership.
Because the investigation shows that Mr. Isaac Montgomery, former Secretary General of the LFA, and Cassel Kuoh, a former executive member of the LFA, are the masterminds behind the purported allegations against Mr. Raji,” the CSNL said.
The group furthered, “These known individuals within the LFA have embarked on this, not just using fake propaganda like the lie of the US$319,000, but have begun using surrogates to protest against Mr. Raji’s administration, in the name that the country’s football is dying under his administration as LFA President.”
Meanwhile, the CSNL is calling on the citizenry not to take seriously the allegation levied against Raji by Montgomery and Cassell, on grounds that it has no basis or truth, and just intended to distract public from the many gains the LFA has made.
“And it is time that we all Liberians celebrate the LFA’s state-of-the-art headquarters, female soccer development, grassroots soccer improvement, rehabilitation of major soccer achievements in Liberia, among others, and stop the hate,” the release added.
