- Want him to apologize to his Uncle Koijee
Senator Steve Zargo of Lofa County
On August 4, 2023, a group of youth and student leaders from Lofa issued a forceful statement requesting Sen. Steve Zargo to apologize to Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Koijee, who is considered to be Zargo’s uncle in accordance with Lofa custom.
Senator Steve Zarko, speaking at a press conference, said Mayor Jefferson Koijee should be suspended pending the outcome of an investigation into the clashes on Independence Day because he is a major supporter of the CDC-COP.
The youth group said it was very upset by the statement Senator Steve Zargo made at his office in the Capitol building on August 2, 2022 accusing Major Koijee of being the mastermind behind the July 26, 2022 street violence. The youth group said it is a complete missed characterization of the young Mayor.
“We are, however, taken seriously aback by the recent statement, which was largely misguided and politically motivated, released by our outgoing senator, Mr. Stephen Zargo, at his capitol building office on August 2, 2022,” the statement read.
According to the group, the senator, who should be preoccupied with the idea of dispensing independent security advice for the general benefit of the country, has willfully elected to desecrate the rigorous standards of the position of Defense, Security, and Intelligence of the Honorable Liberian Senate for the sake of his own personal, egotistical political gain. This is despite the fact that the senator should be preoccupied with the thought of dispensing independent security advice for the general benefit of the country. “We believe it’s high time the Senate considers whether Mr. Zargo, who is consumed with political bigotry, should continue to hold a crucial position as Defense, Security, and Intelligence Chair or an independent, professional Senator should,” they said.
The young people said they were deeply concerned by the broad day hypocrisy of how Mr. Zargo, who constantly stirs up tribal confusion in Lofa county and has come under several public condemnations for his campaign of hate and tribal rhetoric, can now suddenly turn out to be a person ‘’concerned about security.’’
“Does Mr. Zargo not realize that his public statement that “Kpelleh People cannot be senators of Lofa,” which he has refused to apologize for despite public condemnation, can be a recipe for disaster in the country?” the group asked.
They wondered whether it is the role of the Defense, Security, and Intelligence Chairperson to make such statements that serve as major conflict triggers. “We urge the Honorable Liberia Senate to subject Mr. Zargo to an immediate probe over these kinds of statements,” the indicated
“We, the youth and student leaders from 8 of the 11 administrative districts in Lofa and various national youth bodies, are very surprised by what outgoing Senator Steve Zargo said at a recent press conference on Capitol Hill about the protest and “counter-protest” on July 26. He said a lot of things that were completely pointless and motivated by politics”.
The students described Sen. Zargo’s statement as a distraction that came after the president and the international community had given their positions on the July 26 saga, stating that he deliberately chose to distract public attention from his massive failure as Security & Intelligence Chairperson to gather information, forewarn, and possibly deter subversive and violent activities in the country by throwing tantrums at Mayor Jefferson Tamba Koijee, who, the youth says, Sen. Zargo sees as a major threat to his failed political maneuverings in the country.
Mr. Zargo’s futile attacks on one of our own, Mayor Jefferson Koijee, are sheer egotism and fear tactics being employed by the outgoing Senator, who is only hanging on by a straw at the moment”.
According to the statement, Mr. Zargo is nearing the end of his road as a senator and no fruitless and disparaging statement can save him at the moment.
Mr. Zargo is currently seeking relevance at the expense of Mayor Koijee after dismal performance for approximately eight years, and absolutely nothing can get him politically resurrected, they said.
“We believe the statement released by Senator Zargo is out of frustration for he and other leaders’ failure to emancipate the people of Lofa County from abject poverty and dehumanization which has only taken the likes of Koijee and others to resurrect.
Students who said they are representing various administrative districts and various national youth organizations to include Federation of Liberian Youth, Mano River Union Youth Parliament and Lofa Youth Caucus, called on Senator Zargo to apologize to Mayor Koijee for his wild and negligent statement spewed out earlier Tuesday.