Uneasy calm in Liberia’s parliament amid plans to oust Speaker

In Liberia, it was business as usual, at least so it seemed, in the divided national legislature. A group of lawmakers claiming to be the majority in the House of Representatives held a hearing Tuesday about allegations of bribery connected to Speaker J. Fonati Koffa. The Speaker is being forced out of his job by the so-called majority bloc for alleged corruption. He has refused to step down. This, as a delegation from the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States is in Liberia on a mediation mission. The incident has caused President Joseph Boakai to postpone the submission of the draft national budget for Fiscal Year 2025. Representative Foday Edward Fahnbulleh, member of the Good Governance and Reform Committee and a member of the group calling for Speaker Koffa’s removal, tells VOA’s James Butty, Speaker Koffa is conflicted