01/08/2017
SPECIAL STATEMENT TO THE LIBERIAN PEOPLE AS CAMPAIGNING FOR THE OCTOBER 10, 2017 PRESIDENTIAL AND LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS FORMALLY BEGINS
DELIVERED BY
HONORABLE JOSEPH NYUMA BOAKAI,
STANDARD BEARER OF THE UNITY PARTY AND VICE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA
MONDAY, JULY 31, 2007
My fellow citizens, as we begin the campaign for our third successive general elections since the end of our civil conflict, let me start by calling on all Liberians to see the next two and half months as a period for celebrating our democracy. Together, we have kept the peace for fourteen years. Together, we defeated the Ebola virus. Our differences and disputes have been debated in the media, not on the battlefront.
At times, we agreed on a way forward. Other times, we simply agreed to disagree. Similarly, the participation of different political parties in these elections testifies to the fact that, like every functioning democracy, we represent different perspectives on what is good for our country. It is this freedom of liberty and democracy that allows us to put the needs of the Liberian people first.
Our vision for Liberia is simple. We want us to THINK Liberia in all that we do. We want us to LOVE Liberia and always present our patriotism at the core of every action we take and every decision we make.
This Vision was conceived out of a thorough, more profound introspection and retrospection that One Hundred and Seventy (170) years of existence as a sovereign Country with achievements that do not fully match our heralded reputation as Africa’s Oldest Republic and the Second Oldest Black Country in the world, raises many questions about our past. It challenges us to rethink our attitude, conduct, methods, formulas and approach to development in this 21st Century.
We want us to BUILD Liberia so that future generations can look back and be proud that our generation did its part very well in laying a solid foundation for progress.
Looking back over the past years, we take pride in the fact that as a people, we have done much in lifting our battered country from the ashes of war and destruction and setting it firmly on the path of peace and development. Looking into the future, I do believe that we CAN and we MUST do more. What we have achieved over the past years has certainly whetted our people's appetite for more.
The roads, the schools, the hospitals, the public buildings and many others we have constructed have increased our people's yearning for better roads, better schools, better hospitals, clinics and health centers in all parts of our country. The achievements we have made in lifting our country from the abyss of economic collapse to a state of relative macroeconomic stability and transformation have solidified our people's yearning for more robust and inclusive economic growth.
Efforts we have made to improve integrity and accountability in the public sector have increased our people's yearning for more actions in institutionalizing the culture of integrity and accountability in both the public and private sectors.
Certainly, the development we have carried to many parts of our country has increased our people's yearning for more development in all parts of our country.
For more than forty (40) years, I have worked in and out of government in various capacities. Over these years, it has been my privilege and honor to contribute to the forward march of our dear country. Over these years, we have not only been dedicating ourselves to the service of our nation, but we have also been watching keenly and listening actively.
As we embark on this noble journey aimed at seeking your mandate to lead our country and its people to higher heights, we assure you, my fellow citizens, that we intend to lead with humility, with empathy, with wisdom, with courage, with fairness, with sensitivity, with responsiveness and, above all, with integrity.
The Liberia that Honorable Emmanuel Nuquay and I seek to lead is a Liberia that is peaceful, just, united, truly reconciled, tolerant, democratic, and developed; a Liberia where the true worth of a citizen is not measured by his or her tribe, county, religion, or economic status, but by what he or she is capable of doing to move the country forward.
Let me congratulate you my fellow compatriots who, like us, are standing in these elections. All of us who seek the highest seat in our land and those who seek to represent us in the House of Representatives, along with our various political parties and support groups, must commit to peaceful and transparent elections.
Our individual ambitions must at no time supersede our people’s aspiration and growing desire for peace, unity and development.
Finally, we call on all Liberians, particularly you, registered voters, to give us your support at the polls because that is the mandate we need to roll out the agenda aimed at consolidating the gains of the past and building a better Liberia. This, we cannot and will not compromise.
As we today formally begin the campaign process, I ask you, my fellow citizens, not only to support me but also to use each day during the campaign period to reach out to many more of our fellow citizens to join our cause so that we can achieve nothing less than a resounding victory on October 10, 2017.
In furtherance of this, I herewith announce a team of dedicated, committed and well-meaning fellow Liberians who have volunteered, like thousands of others across the country, to spearhead our participation in the ensuing elections:
SENIOR ADVISORS TO THE STANDARD BEARER AND THE UNITY PARTY (UP) CAMPAIGN
1. Honorable Edwin Melvin Snowe
2. Honorable Cletus Segbe Wotorson
3. Dr. Walter T. Gwenigale
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE
Senator Thomas Grupee__________Chairman
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT
1. Honorable Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan_ Campaign Manager
2. Mr. Fong Gami Zuagele Deputy Campaign Manager/Operations
3. Mrs. Ophelia J. S. Kennedy Deputy Campaign Manager
for Administration & Finance
In the coming days, the full listing of members of the National Campaign Committee as well as the individual County Campaign Committees will be announced.
IN UNION STRONG, SUCCESS IS CERTAINLY SURE.
May God continue to bless and protect our dear Country. As always, in whatever we do say, THINK LIBERIA, LOVE LIBERIA, BUILD LIBERIA.
THANK YOU
