PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CENTAL Wants GoL Make Full Disclosure in Alleged 10 Million USD Foya Presidential Villa

-Welcomes Chief Justice Son’s Resignation but …

Monrovia, Thursday, October 2, 2025 - Distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the press, thank you for coming. Thank you also for being a great partner in our shared quest to promote good governance and the culture of transparency and accountability in Liberia.

Lack of Transparency Around Alleged 10 Million USD Presidential Villa in Foya, Lofa County: A Cause for Concern

Ladies and gentlemen of the press, this week, Eddie Jarwolo, a renowned civil society leader and head of Naymote, broke news about the alleged construction of a 10 Million USD presidential villa in Foya, Lofa County, the hometown of president Joseph Nyumah Boakai. Journalists, civil society advocates, ordinary citizens, and others have since been concerned about the source of funding and other details surrounding the project. In response to Mr. Jarwolo’s Facebook post, Deputy Minister of Information, Culture Affairs, and Tourism, Hon. Daniel Sando, was quoted by the Daily Observer as saying, “There is no such presidential project.” What [he] knows is that it has something to do with the Mano River Union conference, given Foya’s geographical position at the border with Guinea and Sierra Leone.” In a bid to independently verify the information, interested individuals and groups separately reached out to the Mano River Union Secretariat. However, the body has since declined to directly speak to the matter, instead urging interested persons to seek documentary evidence from Deputy Minister Sando regarding his claim.

Fellow Liberians, we are yet to see any further response by the deputy spokesman of the Liberian government.Our review of the 2024 and 2025 approved national budgets shows that there is no such project earmarked under the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs or any other budget line. Several questions linger regarding the transparency and accountability of the project. What is the actual source of funding for the project? What are the specifications, and what economic benefits will it yield to the country? How come such a massive project is being undertaken in the hometown of the president, and only after his ascendancy to state power? How was the contractor selected?

CENTAL is deeply concerned about the lack of timely and detailed information on such a project.In the 2025 national budget, the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs outlined public communication and facilitating access to information as key achievements for fiscal year 2024. We wonder why such public communication and transparency and openness have not been extended to the massive project under review, in terms of providing clear and detailed information to the public about its source of funding, contractor selection process, and its rationale and economic value to the country and its people.

The Liberian people deserve to know if their resources are being used for the project. If their resources, through the national budget, are not involved with the construction, then what can possibly be the source of funding? Is the project being financed through corruption or money laundering? If not the President or the government, who could possibly be financing such a huge investment?

We call on the Liberian Government to provide detailed information about the project, as its continued silence, in the midst of multiple concerns, does not send a good message to the public about full compliance with public procurement and other laws and guidelines.Also, we call on the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) and the Asset Recovery Task Force to do the Liberian people the honor by launching a timely probe into such suspicious acquisition to further safeguard the public purse or interest. We await a timely report to the public on its outcomes.

Welcoming Chief Justice’s Son’s Resignation but…

Ladies and gentlemen of the press, on September 18, 2025, President Joseph N. Boakai nominated several individuals, including magistrates and associates, to fill vacancies within the judiciary branch of government. The nominees included Willeyon Gbeisay, son of Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, who was nominated to serve as Associate Magistrate at the Paynesville Magisterial Court. The nomination drew consternation from Liberians, including Judge Nancy Finda Sammy of the Trial Judges Association of Liberia, who, in a September 23, 2025, letter addressed to Chief Justice Gbeisay, held that the nomination violated the legal recruitment and training processes of the judiciary.

In his response, Chief Justice Gbeisay acknowledged that his son’s nomination was triggered by a recommendation he made to President Joseph N. Boakai but denied that his action of recommending his son for service in a branch of government he heads and or supervises and the subsequent nomination by President Boakai constitute any legal or ethical breach.CENTAL differs, as this is clear Nepotism, forbidden by the Code of Conduct for public officials. In section 1.3.16, the Code defines Nepotism as “when a public official appoints, employs, promotes, or recommends for advancement family members in any agency of Government or branch of Government in which he/she works.”A family member is defined in section 1.3.12 to include biological or adopted children of public officials and employees of government. Thus, the action of the Chief Justice to recommend his son to serve in a branch of government he does not only work in but also heads and supervises clearly constitutes Nepotism and a gross disregard for the code of conduct for public officials, which is applicable to the judiciary, legislature, and executive branches of government.

Ladies and gentlemen of the Press, while we welcome the resignation of the son of the Chief Justice, as announced by the Office of the President on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, we are of the view that such resignation does not remedy the misconduct on the part of the Chief Justice, especially so that Chief Justice Gbeisay brazenly defended such misconduct on public television, including going at lengths to humiliate and intimidate Judge Sammy, the President of the National Association of Trial Judges. We wonder how the Chief Justice would rule in a similar case of nepotism as a violation of the Code of Conduct when he himself sees no problem engaging in nepotistic conduct. Our laws provide sanctions for nepotism. In particular, section 9.8 of the Conduct provides that the penalties for nepotism include reprimand, suspension, demotion, or removal from employment and could include prohibiting the offender from working for Government for up to five (5) years. We therefore call on the Legislature to exact appropriate sanctions against the Chief Justice.

Further, we call for extreme care and caution in employment and other decision-making, such that the already low public confidence in the judiciary is not further dampened. Also, we call on President Boakai to lead by example and be true to his commitment to uphold the rule of law and move away from business as usual, including Nepotism, which has undermined accountability, transparency, and productivity in successive governments in Liberia.

Signed ______________

Management