By J. Ebenezer Daygbor
The Baptist Church, the denomination that is described as the “cornerstone of Liberian Church”, is once more in the presidential political news. The First Providence Baptist Church Pastor, Rev. Dr. Samuel D. Reeves is now the Vice Presidential running mate of Presidential contender Mill Jones.
Rev. Reeves was chosen Monday by the Standard Bearer of the Movement for Economic Empowerment (MOVEE). The decision was made at the headquarters of the Party. With that pick, it is not clear how Rev. Reeves will handle his pastoral duties and the political campaign activities to help his party win this year’s elections.
Reeves brings to the table a circle of core supporters in the Baptist denomination, and it is likely that his selection may woo the orthodox following to throw their support behind Dr. Mill Jones for president.
Reverend Dr. Samuel Reeves, Jr. is the 23rd pastor of the Providence Baptist Church in Monrovia. He earned a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary.
Prior to accepting his call to serve as Pastor of the Church in Liberia, Rev. Reeves was a co-pastor at Madison Square Church, a multi-racial Christian Reformed Church that he helped grow from approximately 800 members when he arrived in 1997 to approximately 3,500 members in Grand Rapids, MI, according to sources close to Rev. Reeves.
While Mill Jones attempts to energize his support base, he may be in violation of the Code of Conduct governing election politics in Liberia. According to Section 5.1 and 5.2 of the Code of Conduct, no government official is allowed to run for elective office until after three years of vacating a presidential appointed office.
Dr. Jones served as Governor of the Central Bank for two terms that ended in March of 2016. It appears the National Elections Commission had been sticking its neck on the Code of Conduct debate that ended in the Supreme Court.
But Section 5.1 and 5.2 state in part that any other official appointed by the President who holds a tenured position and desires to contest for public elective office shall resign said post three (3) years prior to the date of such public.”
Dr. Jones’s MOVEE party has made it clear they will not obey and argued that the Code of Conduct does not affect their candidate. Three months ago, the Party ruled out any debate as whether or not Dr. Jone will contest.
The Party’s Chairman, Dee Maxwell Kemayah said recently as reported by a local newspaper, “The Movement for Economic Empowerment (MOVEE) believes in the conduct of peaceful, free, fair and transparent elections; and more importantly, the general peace and stability of Liberia…”
Mr. Kemayah added, “…Dr. J. Mills Jones will in no way be stopped from exercising his franchise or inalienable right to contest for any position of choice in Liberia; in this case, the Liberian presidency come October 2017 as desired and petitioned by the Liberian people. Any attempt to stop Dr. Jones from contesting or running for the presidency in the October 2017 elections, the Liberian people will not accept it.”
Since the passage into law of the Code of Conduct, some politicians have been providing diverse interpretations and tying the CBL former Executive Governor and now Standard-bearer of MOVEE, Dr. Jones, to violation of the Code of Conduct.
Liberia political commentators are juxtaposing Dr. Jones’s pick with that made by the late President William V.S. Tubman who picked for his Vice President, William R. Tolbert, then Vice President of the Baptist Alliance.
A program is being organized expected to feature some Liberian musical artists to bring together partisans, sympathizers, members from the Baptist Church.
