PYJ Crowns Himself ‘Godfather’ of Nimba

Nimba County Senator Prince Johnson has vowed to trump anyone aspiring to unseat him at the Senate. “I will defeat them all as I did in 2005 when I defeated 22 candidates,” he told a local radio talk show yesterday in Monrovia.

Senator Johnson said he is confident of emerging victorious in the 2014 senatorial election because he still enjoys the confidence and backing of Nimba County.

“I am the Godfather of the county. This is because my people love me,” said the Senator. Senator Johnson’s remarks were in sharp response to news that his competitors are swelling in number and determined to unseat him in the mid-term election.

The Nimba County senior senatorial seat is currently occupied by Prince Y. Johnson of the opposition National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP), a party he founded to contest the Liberian presidency in 2011.  He last month quit the party and announced a come-back within days. 

Known for his unpredictable and usually controversial political antics, he also recently told a radio show in Ganta that he had rescued certain candidates running for representative positions in Nimba from sudden death at the ballot during the 2011 general and presidential elections, alleging the involvement of the then Elections Commissioner James Fromayan and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.  The Executive Mansion and the now-representatives have since reacted sharply to Mr. Johnson’s allegations.  Shortly before the 2011 run-off election for the presidency, Sen. Johnson announced to the world that he was in the position to decide who became president of Liberia, by virtue of his purported influence on the Nimba vote.

So the NUDP founder remains determined to maintain a firm thumb on the senior senatorial seat, the county caucus, and every other entitlement within his sphere of influence.

Earlier this month, former education minister Dr. Joseph Korto made known his intent to contest the senior senatorial seat of his native Nimba County. Dr. Korto and other candidates have their eyes on 2014, when Liberians will go to the polls to elect a fresh batch of 15 senators, representing the 15 counties, for a-nine-year tenure at the Legislature.

Besides Korto, a bunch of other newcomers is said to be considering a bid for that hot-seat as well. They include the acting head of the Forestry Development Authority, Harrison Karnwea; Dr. Rex Kardikeh Dahn, former deputy education minister for planning and research; Mr. Peter Weato, proprietor of the Zoe-Geh Medical Center, Nimba County, to name a few.

Also, some defeated candidates of the 2011 presidential and general elections are considering joining the race. Prominent among this batch is the former embattled superintendent of the county, Edith Gongloe-Weh. 

But Senator Johnson has made it clear that he is not moved by the number of candidates vying for his seat. According to him, “this is what democracy calls for.”

“Let them come, I will defeat them all,” he said with confidence.