-Rep. Koon certain about his victory
By G Bennie Bravo Johnson I
Members of the 55th National Legislature will on today, January 15, 2024 head to the polls to elect the speaker, Deputy Speaker, and Pro-Tempore of the national legislature who may lead that august body for the next six years.
A contestant of the speakership, Montserrado County District #11 Representative Richard N. Koon has vowed to defeat Deputy Speaker of the 54th National Legislature, Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa at the speakership election.
Addressing the Spoon Conversation over the weekend, Representative Koon said that he has the blessings of Liberia President-elect, Amb. Joseph Nyumah Boakai.
“I will defeat Deputy House Speaker Cllr. Koffa Today. I want to also inform you that I have the full Blessings and support of President-elect Boakai. We from the Unity Party were three behind this and he told us to settle and decide who goes. Today, we all agree and he has assured me of his blessings and support therefore, I will beat Mr. Koffa Today” Mr. Koon noted.
According to him, he will consult Amb. Boakai on anything and step he will take to ensure that it goes the agenda of Amb. Boakai to make Liberia a great place.
Speaking on his supporters, Representative Koon added that he currently has over thirty-three members of the House of Representatives who are supporting him.
He disclosed that they five election cases in court and among those in court he has three that have pledged support to him already, something that makes him believe he will defeat Representative Koffa.
” The other man said he gets 41 and I get 40 if you add the two that is 81 and we are not that number. As I speak with you now, we just from a meeting with more than 33 lawmakers people who have been in the struggle for some time. We got committed thirty-three members that is unshakable” he noted.
The Unity Party Candidate for the Speakership Election of the House of Representatives, however, promised to rebrand and restore the sanity of the House of Representatives if Elected.
Representative Koon assured that if elected as Speaker of the First Branch of government, his first one hundred days in Office will ensure that ruining water and Electricity are stabled at the Grounds of the Capitol, where Legislators and other employees will not carry water on their heads.
The Unity Party District #11 Representative noted that his quest to head his colleagues at the House of Representatives is to prevent the body from having an agonist speaker, who will abstract the development agenda of the Unity Party government.
Koon said unless the past leadership of the House, a leadership under his watch will be independent, where his colleague’s legislative agenda will be prioritized, adding that his selection to head the Unity Party bloc was based on a rigorous vetting process, qualification, and competence.
He said as speaker of the 55th legislature, he will ensure that every County Caucus has their separate inputs during the debate of the national budget in various committee rooms to highlight priority areas for development before passages, which will enable countries and Districts to have a fair share of the National Budget.
Representative Koon has at the same time re-emphasized his commitment to cut the Speaker’s budget by 20% when elected and uses the same to address critical needs in the Districts of his colleagues as well as Legislative staffers’ warfare among others.
