By J. Ebenezer Daygbor
River Gee County Senator Conmany Wesseh says it would the right thing to do were Margibi County Senator Oscar Cooper to resign his position as member of the 54th Senate of the Liberian Legislature, if be helieves the upper chamber of the Legislature was “useless”. “…or he should help to make it better place,” Sen. Wesseh said.
Speaking to our Correspondent in an interview at his Capitol Building office Thursday, June 29th, Senator Wesseh said that if Senator Cooper claims that the Liberian Senate is a “useless place” to be, the best option for Cooper, a businessman turned politician, is to resign or remain to make it a better place rather than to describe the upper house as “useless”.
Senator Wesseh’s statement is in response to Senator Cooper’s verbal attack on the Liberian Senate during plenary. Cooper branded the Liberian Senate as a ‘useless place’ on planet earth, after his call for the upper house to observe “normal legislative procedure” in ratifying a US$4.8m grant. His concerns were downplayed by presiding officer Pro-Tempore Armah Jallah.
Thursday, June 29th, the chambers of the Liberian Senate turned hot, when the agenda of plenary carried an item, which states letter of apology from Senator Cooper. Senator Cooper without delay, uprightly said, at no time he had written the secretary of the senate a communication for apology.
The plenary of the senate had earlier given two days ultimatum to the Margibi lawmaker for his utterance. Cooper insisted that his statement is not an insult as being considered by some of colleagues and at such, he owes nobody apology.
When the secretary of the Senate, Mr. Nanbolor Singbeh was quizzed as to whether he received a letter of apology from Cooper, he openly confessed that there was no letter of such.
Apparently embarrassed by the blunder on the agenda, Senate President Pro Tempore Armah Jallah gaveled the open session to a close one. Sen. Cooper argued that during the period of adaption of the agenda, the motion did not state anything about closed doors session on his purported letter and he was not willing to go in executive session.
Following consultations with few of his colleagues, including Montserrado County Senator Geraldine Doe Sherif, Grand Kru Senator Peter Coleman and others, Pro Tempore Jallah continued with open session. This time, he constituted a special committee to probe the Cooper saga.
Cooper explained that his statement is guided by article 42 of the 1986 Liberian Constitution which states; “No member of the Senate or House of Representatives shall be arrested, detained, prosecuted or tried as a result of opinions expressed or votes cast in the exercise of the functions of his office.
“Members shall be privileged from arrest while attending, going to or returning from sessions of the Legislature, except for treason, felony or breach of the peace. All official acts done or performed and all statement made in the Chambers of the Legislature shall be privileged, and no Legislator shall be held accountable or punished therefore,” the Constitution provides.
But from all indications, it appears that the saga between Senator Cooper and the plenary is far from conclusion.
