Federation of Liberian Youth’s Executive Committee Suspends President Amos Williams Over ‘Breach of Constitution’
Monrovia – The National Executive Committee of the Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY) has suspended FLY’s president, Amos Williams for allegedly violating the constitution of the federation.
Making the pronouncement at a press conference at FLY’s headquarter on Monday, the National Executive Committee said it took the decision to suspend the president for “deliberately pursuing actions which contravene the constitution and temper with objective procedures required for the holding of General Assembly.” The Committee argued that its action is in line with Article 8 of the bylaws and constitution FLY.
It announced that Mr. William has been forwarded to the National Executive Council for investigation, and in his absence, the 1st Vice President of FLY, Jacob J. Flomo has been mandated by the National Executive Committee to act in the interim, until the matter is fully settled.
“The Federation of Liberian Youth is bigger than any individual and the National Executive Committee has agreed to take this action in order to protect the integrity and credibility of the institution. In this vein, six of the eight members on the National Executive Committee have decided to suspend the president and his authority over the Federation of Liberian Youth,” the Executive Committee announced in a statement read by FLY’s First Vice President.
It continued: “In a vote of no confidence, we have temporarily relieved of president Amos Williams of his duties and responsibilities and forwarded him to the National Executive Council for investigation to justify or concede the unconstitutionality of his action. All information bearing on our claims of constitutional violation have been forwarded to the competent bodies for review, with a request that measures of dismissal shall be imposed on the accused, if found guilty.”
According to the Committee, On April 11, 2022, the president overstepped his bounds when he appointed an Ad Hoc National Election Commission to conduct the federation’s impending election. His alleged action, the Committee said violates Article 16, Section 3 of FLY’s Constitution which gives the National Executive Committee the imperial authority to appoint members of the National Election Commission.
Article 16, Section 3 states that: “All elections shall be conducted by an Election Commission appointed by the National Executive Council through the President.”
The Committee furthered that the next day on April 12, the National Executive Committee communicated Mr. Williams’ alleged action to FLY’s Board Chairman, Dr. Julius Sarwolo Nelson and Minister of Youth and Sport, D. Zeogar Wilson but their attempts at finding a common ground were not successful as Williams evaded any form of reasonable dialogue on the matter.
The Committee also claimed that the embattled president also sanctioned a new elections’ timeline without the explicit approval of the National Executive Committee, which is inconsistent with the constitution.
“The president’s intransigence to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Board Chairman and National Executive Committee can be translated into an insistence to dictate the course of the transition even if it means slaughtering the constitution of FLY to suit his subjective interests,” the group said.
When contacted by FrontPage Africa, Mr. Williams’ phone did not ring and he did not respond to text messages.
Meanwhile, the Committee is calling on the Government of Liberia and partners to discontinue their engagement with the Mr. Williams as doing so will be at their own risk; adding that the offices of the Federation of Liberian Youth will continue to be open for business and interaction with the public.
The Committee also called on Williams to turn over, to the secretariat, all properties of FLY in his possession, including the vehicles, stamps and ID Cards.
It warned that “any attempt to impersonate as president will be met with the full weight of the law. Additionally, we have communicated with the bank to nullify the signature of Amos Williams on the accounts of FLY until further notice.”
It furthered: “The Federation of Liberian Youth would like to express gratitude to our partners, citizens, media, and stakeholders of the youth community for their consistent support as we drive the institution toward transition. We remain hopeful that our cooperation will continue in the future, contributing to the identification and prevention of negative phenomenon, and that all our actions continue to be committed to the preservation of FLY’s image.”