Eugene L. Fahngon, Deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), has predicted that President George Weah’s second term bid might flop if corrective measures are not taken in the remaining years of his presidency.
In his usual podcast, Fahngon recently said the defeat of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) during the December 8 Senatorial polls is “disgraceful, worrisome and has the propensity to cost Weah the Presidency come 2023, should difficult times in the country remain the same.”
“If anyone tells you that the popularity of our President and the love the people have for him will get him elected in 2023 if the situation does not change, tell them say Fahngon says you d*mn lie,” he said emphatically.
Fahngon, who is one of the Weah administration’s tough-talking officials, admitted that the country is not proceeding well under the George Weah led administration due to sycophancy on the part of many in whom the President has reposed much trust and confidence to serve.
Although Fahngon did not call names, he promised to expose those individuals, even if it costs him his job.
“They love the President but hate his government to the bone. They are evil and do not mean well for our President and this country. They are immediate friends to him but are pretenders,” he said.
He added: “We were flogged in Cape Mount, Bong, and other Counties where the President even went and campaigned for our candidates. We were annihilated in the Mid-term Senatorial election. Something is wrong but until it is corrected, we may fail in the 2023 elections even more.”
The public has often lashed at Fahngon for making derogatory comments that have the propensity to create division and incite violence among Liberians, especially with regard to the contentious ‘Congo-Native’ politics; an issue for which the US Embassy near Monrovia publicly called him out, resulting in his suspension by President Weah.
“Sometimes the truth lands me in trouble but I don’t care. Once my country benefits, I am happy. I speak without fear. Hate is not a good choice of word for me but I speak with no fear. This is why they wanted to kill me. I was sick for over two weeks and doctors could not discover what was my medical problem. They tried to eliminate me but they were and will always be dead-wrong,” the MICAT Deputy Minister said.
He alleged that some partisans of the CDC want him out of government and they have, on many occasions, recommended to Weah the need to sack him (Fahngon), but he is not afraid and will not die if he loses the job.
“Will I not be a Kindergarten teacher? Can anyone master this microphone like I do? Can I not read the news? Can I not be a talk show host, after the deputy minister post?” he asked rhetorically.
Fahngon also alleged that to quiet him down, there are attempts by some officials in top positions within the ruling administration to seize his podcast gadgets but he has secured the materials beyond their reach.
“I will expose them. They are the evil ones around the President and their mission is to make him unpopular and unappreciated by the nation’s majority suffering people,” he said.
Admitting to “suffering people” now, Minister Fahngon a few months back visited a market in Monrovia and made a public comment that prices of basic commodities were low when there was a public outcry at the time that prices were unbearably high.
After the December 8, 2020 Special Senatorial election, Fahngon posted on his Facebook account that the defeat of the CDC at the polls was a first-half football related match, hoping that the second and final half (2021-2023) of the political match would bring in competent substitutes who would produce more and better results.
“The second half will produce a team like never before. Our borrowed players (opposition actors serving in government) will be rested. Our top strikers will stay on. Our midfielders will be dressed in studs instead of ‘gbassay nyinibe’ (rubber sandals) and they will attack on the run and defend on the counter.
“Our defense will take no mess, our substitutes will be happy instead of being sad, and they will encourage their team-mates on. Our supporters and fans will be a part of the game but for our opponents, you will now play to our new system and pattern. And you the spectators will get what you paid for,” he said in his post.
The MICAT Deputy Minister said he was shocked that the ruling CDC terribly lost in the December 8 polls.
“President has led and continues to lead the way in building more and better market facilities, roads and a lot more other great developments, but the same market women and many others voted against his choices for the Senate. That should send a clear message to all of us that all is not well. Our people are not stupid and they deserve better,” Fahngon confessed.
He said CDC should have learned from the losses in 2019 at the Legislative by-elections in Grand Cape Mount and Montserrado Counties.
“Even though Edward Flomo reconciled with CDC upon his win in District #13 in Montserrado, he did not win as our candidate. Our Candidate John Weah was defeated disgracefully. The same happened in Grand Cape Mount County when Victor Watson won and to crown it all, the win of Abraham Darius Dillon as Senator in Montserrado at the 2019 by-election,” Fahngon recalled.
He called on President Weah to come to terms with the “optical reality” and get out of his government those who pretend to be good but deep in their hearts are evil and plotting against the President.
There has been a fair amount of political good-will on the part of the President, such as subsidies for undergraduate education as well as students taking the West African Senior Certificate Exams (WASSCE), across the country. However, such goodwill has been severely stained by the recent series of mysterious deaths of government officials, and the administration’s handling of same. Investigations into the deaths were delayed as police admitted to tampering with crime scene evidence
whose investigations more questioned than accepted not only by families and loved ones of the victims but the general public too.
There are still allegations of money missing with no conclusive and acceptable investigative reports, more that the public’s suspicion sees those at the helm of power involved in the shady deals.