Pay $1,000 or Face Expulsion: Unity Party threatens its government Officials Amid Loyalty Rift
- Michael T
- Sep 14
- 2 min read
MONROVIA, Sept 14 – Liberia’s ruling Unity Party has suspended 28 senior officials and lawmakers for what it called “persistent absenteeism and dereliction of duty,” enforcing a one-month suspension and imposing fines of $1,000 each under threat of expulsion.
The unusual punitive measure, announced late Saturday, sweeps up some of the governing party’s most influential figures, including senators, cabinet members, and long-time powerbrokers.
Those sanctioned include some of the Unity Party’s most visible names, among them Senator Nya D. Twayen Jr. of Nimba County, Finance Minister Augustine Ngafuan, Minister of Internal Affairs Francis Nyumalin, Information Minister Matthew Piah, Commerce Minister Magdalene Dagoseh, Lands and Mines Minister Wilmot Paye and Senator Darpilah Varpilah of Grand Cape Mount County, along with several other lawmakers and cabinet ministers.
The move has raised eyebrows over widening fissures within President Joseph Boakai’s political base. Party insiders described the sanctions as a symptom of an escalating “loyalty crisis,” with senior members openly flouting directives.
Critics seized on the decision as evidence of deeper weakness. “A party struggling with this level of noncompliance is in no position to lecture the nation on accountability,” one political observer told Reuters, noting that the sweeping suspensions expose fragile internal controls at a moment the administration is seeking to project competence and stability.
The Unity Party statement invoked the need for discipline and accountability but stopped short of addressing what many see as a broader breakdown in trust between the leadership and its veteran cadres.
By effectively forcing elected officials and long-time loyalists to pay or quit, the ruling party has put its own house on notice.
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