Who Replaces Ngafuan At Foreign Ministry?

Liberia's youthful Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has tendered his official resignation from President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s administration which he has helped to bring to power; thus creating a major vacuum in the nation’s international relations and foreign policy implementation. In the aftermath Mr. Ngafuan exit from the government, the Liberian populace especially diplomatic players are wondering as to who occupy the dedicated office?

Diplomatic pundits have expressed confidence that the President will soon, not later nominate a trusted and well educated Liberian to occupy the position of Dean of the Cabinet and Minister of Foreign Affairs. The position of Minister of Foreign Affairs is a dedicated political post which should be occupied by individual with acceptable characters and not a person with questionable character.

Observers believed that individual nominated for the prestigious but challenging office must understand the new dynamics of the contemporary emerging global politics, possesses high verbal communication skills, be incorruptible, well respected, be energized and should come from a new order capable of bring new dynamics to Liberia’s foreign policy and international relations with other countries.

Mr. Ngafuan over the weekend resigned his position in government in fulfillment of his persistent pronouncement that he will not be inactive during the 2017 democratic exercises, reiterating that he will be active just as was the case of 2005 and 2011 elections; reiterating that “I told you two years ago that I will not be inactive, people will subject me to all kinds of speculations but I will not be drawn into any of that. As I said before I will not be inactive.

In one of his interviews of local journalists in Monrovia, Minister Ngafuan said: “One thing I can assure, 2005 I was active, 2011 I was also active. Although active in the sense of contributing, managing the economy, 2017- I will not be inactive, I can assure you I will not sit idly and allow this country to retrogress, his country must continue to maintain progress and to do even better and what specific role I play in the process will be determined as time goes by. So as I sit, I leave everything to God and I leave everything with the Liberian people.”

According to sources, several individuals’ names have arose for the position of Foreign Minister but the question is who will President Sirleaf nominate for the post to stair the affairs of the Ministry to the expiration of the president’s tenure?

Among the lists include Madam Marjon V. Kamara, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Liberia to the United Nations in New York; Mr. Lewis Brown, Minister of Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism; Mr. Gbehzohngar M. Findley, former President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate; Mr. William Gyude Moore, Minister of Public Works and Ambassador Charles A. Minor, former Liberian Ambassador to the United States of America.

Others include Mr. Wesley Momo Johnson, former Liberian Ambassador to the Court of Saint James in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland; Ambassador William V.S. Bull, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Dr. Thelma Awori, Honorary Consul General of Liberia to Kampala, Uganda; Dr. Johnny McClain; Liberia's Ambassador to Ivory Coast and NOCAL board Chair, Cllr. Seward Montgomery Cooper.