“I challenge anyone to publish the video footage that had us sitting there in Boulevard Palace distributing money to ministers, I will resign the next day,” this was how the Senate Chairperson on Ways, Means, and Finance ended the year 2024.
Speaking to reporters at his Capitol Building offices, Moye said, “That is my commitment to citizens of Liberia. Those saying this are confused and don’t even know propaganda.”
Senator Prince Moye said there has been no evidence of him that substantiates media reports of him distributing monies to public officials during past and current budget periods.
Senator Moye, representing the people of Bong County in the Legislature said, “Under this regime, what is for the Vice President will be for the Vice President, it is not going to increase.”
On December 31, 2024, the Daily Observer newspaper published a story on its website captioned: “Boulevard Palace GM’s Death Linked to Top GOL Officials?”
In the report, the paper claimed that before his demise, the General Manager of the Boulevard Palace Hotel in Monrovia, Anwar Futloo, had a leaked video containing evidence of high-level corruption among key government officials.
According to the report, the footage allegedly captured by CCTV in Room 1026 reportedly showed Vice President Jeremiah Koung, Deputy Speaker Thomas Fallah, and Senator Prince Moye distributing large sums of U.S. dollars to lawmakers and senior ministers.
In his reaction at his Capitol Building office in Monrovia on Thursday, January 2, Senator Moye described the allegation as mere and half-baked propaganda orchestrated by his political opponents who are mainly from the House of Representatives.
He said these political opponents are bent on releasing false accusations against him to the public due to his political triumph and roles played to bring to power the Unity Party led-government of President Joseph Boakai.
He disclosed that though he has reached out to the media institution, he decided to go public with his response to the allegations due to the gullibility of the Liberian society.
He blamed “some CDC propagandists” as being behind the spreading of the false reports on the social media.
Senator Moye pointed out that at no time he held meetings or sessions to work on the national budget or distributed monies to his colleagues and other members of the executive branch at room 1026 at the Boulevard Palace.
“When news are written by one propagandist sitting in one corner, sometimes you don’t give it the kind of attention you have to give it because social media made it just so bad that anybody can sit in your little room, create an account, and say or write anything about anybody and you will not know who is saying it. But when it is published in a paper like the Daily Observer then it calls for us to comment on it because this could reduce the credibility of the paper which Liberia has hope and credibility in,” he claimed.
He continued: “Since I assumed the Chairmanship of the Ways, Means, Finance, and Budget Committee within the Liberian Senate, I have never had any budget meeting of that magnitude to Boulevard Palace. There are conference rooms all over here (at the Capitol Building). If we want to meet, I have my conference room. I can choose to lock this door and meet with Ministers I want to meet here on account of budget discussion.”
He clarified that he never had any personal or closed relationship with the late Futloo as he (Moye) has never been a hotel goer to socialize or hold budget discussions, except for the holding of other meetings.
“All my budget hearings since I became Chairperson of the Senate Ways, Means and Finance and Development Planning Committee are conducted at the Capitol Building. I go to hotels on different things; maybe county development or other meetings,” he reiterated.
Senator Moye added that happenings that characterized the passage of national budgets under the former Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government of former President George Manneh Weah would not be entertained or carried out under the current administration of President Joseph Boakai and Vice President Jeremiah Koung.
According to him, the allocation of US$1.5 million for the office of the former Deputy Speaker which later shows over US$4 million in expenditure will not be condoned under his watch as head of the Senate Committee on Ways, Means, Finance and Development Planning.
Senator Moye attributed the negative media report against him to the ongoing impasses at the House of Representatives.
He called those involved and “facing their serious political crisis” to “deal with your issues” and leave him alone.
He denied claims being made that the leadership crisis at the House was intended for the Executive to have full control over the national budget.
“I am saying to the whole world and the public that since I became Chairman of Ways and Means, there is no way a Vice President is part of a budget discussion; absolutely no. In the Senate, the Vice President only signs the budget that the plenaries from both Houses approve after the Speaker has signed. Deputy Speaker, by our rules, is an ex-officio on all the committees, but it doesn’t give you that right to sit with budget people to discuss anything anywhere,” he clarified.
“It’s almost months ago when the revelation was made by Fonati Koffa about room 1026 when their crisis started. So if somebody has footage of someone, why they didn’t expose me? They can go and pay for the video footage of those perceived individuals they feel want to oust you from your position. If the General Manager had this video footage ever since I know Koffa could have sold everything that he has to just purchase it instead of allowing himself to be removed.”
Senator Moye used this medium to call on owners of media institutions not to allow their radio stations, newspapers and other outlets to be used to spread propagandas just to please their selfish motive of others.
He added that the ethics of good journalism must be followed to avoid propagandists spreading misinformation to the detriment of the character of others.
He concluded, “My only regret is for paper like the Daily Observer to get carry away by a propaganda story that will reduce the credibility of the paper without even coming to contact me or other names that were mentioned. This propaganda against me is coming because, we know that when you are progressing in politics in our country, you become the dumpsite of all the bad news. And that’s just what is happening; they will not just call anybody’s name because they know what we stand for and what we believe in.”
