By: Naomi Tappia
Amidst the escalating internal wrangles in the opposition bloc, Alternative National Congress standard bearer, Alexander Cummings has termed as “malicious and nefarious” the allegations that he altered their framework document.
Cummings is being accused of altering the document by the outgoing Chairperson of Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), the biggest opposition bloc that he altered their framework document.
The outgoing Chairperson of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), a conglomeration of four major opposition political parties with the sole purpose of “emancipating the country from what they termed as bad governance, exacerbating economic crisis, divisive messages among others, due to the ineptness of President George Weah and his corps of officials to lead the country”, Senator Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence narrated recently that the former Chairman of the CPP Alexander Benedict Cummings altered the document to benefit him, calling for immediate investigation into the matter.
Parties whose political actors consented on collaborating as one united to checkmate the President George Weah’s administration are; the former ruling Unity Party that was headed by Africa’s first democratically elected female President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Liberty Party, the All Liberian Party and the Alternative National Congress.
The Collaborating Political Parties after been established on May 19, 2019, was headed by the ANC political leader as Chairman in 2020 at which time it was certified by the National Elections Commission (NEC) legitimizing the coalition as a single political party, subsequently making significant gains during the nationwide Special Senatorial Election held on December 8, 2020, capturing the strong hold of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) which has over the years been known as Montserrado County, something that signified that the Weah’s administration message of hope was no longer resounding with the citizenry due to severe economic crisis across the country.
In reaction to the indictment by Senator Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence, the Alternative National Congress standard bearer Alexander Cummings, addressing the press on October 10, 2021, revealed that “the affront on his integrity and honesty by the Chairperson and his other colleagues is deeply hurtful, describing their allegation against him as false and misleading, lacking every iota of truth to authentic their claims against him.
The ANC standard bearer clarified that he endorsed the idea of establishing the collaboration for the sake of the Liberian people who are suffering as a result of bad governance, adding that working together as one unite would be the best way to easily oust the President Weah’s administration and effectuate the needed changes to improve the lives of the citizens.
Cummings continued that he is a man who has an impeccable character and had worked for many notable institutions with no audit report indicting him of committing any form of fraudulent act or indecorum, while he asserted that his accusers may have succeeded temporarily by injuring his hard earned reputation, but posterity will judge them for accusing him of falsification of some provisions in the framework document to favor him win the nomination as the standard bearer of the biggest collaborating political bloc in the impending 2023 presidential election.
The ANC standard bearer has called on the outgoing Chairperson Senator Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence and his other colleagues to publicly apologize to him and retract her vindictive statement of forgery imposed against him as a man internationally acclaimed as a reservoir of integrity, lamenting that he resents such characterization of him as a “criminal” by people who feel his presence in the race is a threat to their chances of winning the nomination.
Political pundits of the ruling establishment and other opposition coalitions, some partisans of the CPP have since mocked the CPP about the rigmarole in the bloc and expressed concerned whether the intended purpose of forming the political marriage to make President George Weah a one term President will be dashed because of the crisis that is slowing the momentum gained during the 2020 senatorial elections.
