Claim: “Cllr. J.Fonati Koffa single-handedly selected Liberia’s Representatives to the ECOWAS Parliament and lied under oath that he conducted an election.”
Source: Resolution of the 55th Legislature Effectuate Removal of Hon. Koffa
Full Text: The majority of members of the 55th Legislature effectuate the removal of Fonati Koffa, speaker of that august body.
On October 17, 2024, the majority block in count two of their resolution claimed that Koffa, speaker of the House of Representatives, independently selected colleagues (representatives) to represent the country to the ECOWAS Parliament instead of elections to have those individuals voted for, a violation of the Protocol of the ECOWAS Parliament.
According to the document, the speaker’s actions violate Article 18 of the ECOWAS Protocol on Elections, Terms of Office, and Vacancies.
Subsection (a) of the article states that representatives shall be elected by direct universal suffrage by citizens of member states. Also, subsection (b) of Article 18 of the ECOWAS Protocol states that the representatives of each member state reflect as much as possible the political configuration in the state.”
Alex J. Tyler is a member of Liberia’s delegation to ECOWAS, led by Senator Edwin M. Snowe of Bomi County. Other legislators from the House of Representatives that were recently selected by Koffa include Samuel R. Enders, Moima B. Mensah, and Taa Z. Wongbe.
According to those 43 lawmakers who are requesting the removal of Koffa, selecting those members does not align with the ECOWAS Protocol or the typical resolution process.
Verification: To authenticate this information, TSM contacted Robert Haynes, Director of Press at the House of Representatives, who said during former Speaker Bhofal Chambers’s term, a similar process was carried out.
Haynes named Clarence K. Massaquoi, former District #3 Lofa County Representative, Haja F. Siryon, former District #3 Bomi County, and Edwin M. Snowe, now senator of Bomi County and the head of the Liberia delegation to ECOWAS, as those that were all appointed by Chambers as Liberia’s representative to the ECOWAS Parliament.
He added that there is no formal election process specifically for selecting representatives to the ECOWAS Parliament. “There is no election for Liberia’s Representative to the ECOWAS Parliament; the Speaker makes the appointment,” Haynes said.
Snowe, Liberia’s head of delegation to ECOWAS when asked about the procedures leading to who represents the country, Snowe said each house of the legislature creates its own rules aligned with the constitution of the country.
Snowe did not go into detail on grounds that he had left the House of Representatives nearly four years ago and is not familiar with the process of the selection of members of the House to be part of Liberia’s delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament.
To further authenticate this claim, TSM contacted Foday E. Fahnbulleh, Bong County Representative who said that the ECOWAS law, specifically Chapter III, which addresses “Election, Immunity, and Parliamentary Allowance,” requires individuals who represent a country to be elected, not selected for the position.
Beyond the elections of members, Fahnbulleh noted that within the House of Legislature, resolutions are often made, with lawmakers indicating their support through signatures; however, this was not the case.
Fahnbulleh said that on February 7, 2024, Koffa sent a communication to Dr. Sidie Mohammed, the Right Honorable Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, with a list of names of Liberia’s Members of the House of Representatives to the 6th Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament without the consensus of members.
“In the said letter, Koffa said an election was conducted, which is misleading and it violates the ECOWAS Protocol,” Fahnubulleh said.
P. Mike Jurry, Maryland County District #1 Representative, highlighted the importance of clarity in the communication regarding the electoral process of Liberia Members to the ECOWAS Parliament.
He said Koffa’s message sent to Dr. Mohammed titled “Election of Liberian Representatives to the 6th Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament” contained some inaccuracies.
“If there shouldn’t be any election according to the Honorable Speaker, why did he send a communication with the caption “Election…” presenting our colleagues to ECOWAS? The Speaker misinformed ECOWAS,” Jurry stated.
Furthermore, he wants lawmakers to provide accurate information moving forward.
We also reached out to Marvin Cole, Representative, Bong County District #3 who promised to respond but has failed up to now. When he does, we will update this article.
According to Acarous M. Gray, former representative of Montserrado District #8, during Alex Tyler’s tenure as Speaker of the House of Representatives, a democratic process was implemented for leadership positions at ECOWAS. He stated that three individuals were elected to key leadership positions to ensure greater participation and representation at ECOWAS.
“When Bhofal Chambers became Speaker, the process for electing leadership to ECOWAS changed significantly- No elections were held, Chambers personally selected individuals and made recommendations to ECOWAS for these appointments,” Gray added.
Clarence Massaquoi, former Representative of Lofa County District #3, said under Speaker Alex Tyler’s leadership, an election was held that retained Hon. Jefferson Kanmo and Hon. Haja Siryon as members of the ECOWAS Parliament. Senator Snowe was also elected to succeed former Deputy Speaker Togba Mulbah.
In 2018, during Speaker Chambers’ tenure, Hon. Kanmo lost his seat in the national legislature in 2017, making him ineligible for the ECOWAS Parliament. As a result, the plenary voted 46-47 to endorse Clarence Massaquoi as Kanmo’s replacement in May 2018
After the 4th ECOWAS legislature, Hon. Siryon, Senator Snowe, and he (Massaquoi) chose to retain their membership in the ECOWAS Parliament, which the plenary approved through a voting process.
Conclusion: Given the various positions of lawmakers from all sides, as well as Koffa’s communication to the ECOWAS Chief titled “Election of Liberian Representatives to the 6th Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament,” it is clear that members of parliament must be voted for or elected, rather than selected as the speaker does. However, the speaker’s actions indeed stemmed from previous Speaker Chamber decisions.
