Nwabudike ‘fights for Survival’

Monrovia- The rejected chairman of the National Election Commission- Cllr. Augustus Ndubusi Nwabudike is said to be fighting hard to redeem his image and possibly his career. As a  result of that,  he is doing all in  his power to  succeed.

Recently, he  filed a law suit against the government saying that he is a legitimate naturalized Liberian based on  the documents which he said were given him by the supreme court of Liberia.

One of  his lawyers, Cllr. Alexander Zoe field a document in court  in defense of him.  But   the minister of Justice and Attorney General of Liberia, Cllr. Frank Musa Dean field another legal paper seeking saying that the court did not have the jurisdiction of the case.

But some legal experts this paper spoke to recently said, “ the man  has to fight back to redeem his  credibility at all cost. Where he has reach, is either between life of death.”

“If I  were him, I would do the same. This entire thing is handing on his life. If it is established that he  lied, the Liberia National Bar Association-LNBA, will revoke his license. Not only that, but also he will go  back to the law school and pay the outstanding money as a non-Liberian. Also, his undergraduate, he will have to pay the money there too. If that is not done, they may cancel everything and he will come to zero.

It can be recalled that Ndubusi,  naturalized Nigerian national  was nominated by president  George Weah  to chair the NEC, after its current chairman tenure has expired. He and five  Liberians were nominated.

Those names submitted by the president are;   Davidetta Browne Lansanah Co-Chairman,  Cllr. Ernestine Morgan-Awar   Commissioner, Floyd Sayor    Commissioner, Barsee Kpankgpa    Commissioner, and Josephine Kou Gaye     Commissioner.

During the hearing, Cllr. NWAdubuke said he was born in 1965 and obtained his Liberian citizenship in 1982 at the age of 17 with the assistance of guardians. His testimony, according to Senator Varney Sherman, contradicts the Alien and Nationality Law of Liberia.

Cllr. Nwabudike said at the time that; “I don’t have a copy of my naturalization document that is more clear. I don’t have original copy, only photocopy.”

But the senate requested for the original copy.  As it relates to different dates on his passport and date or birth, he said this: “My passport had 1963 and I believe the transcript had 1964.”  But at his first confirmation hearing, he told the senate  that he was born 1965.

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The five Liberians were confirmed but his confirmation as Chairman  was the most controversial one which lasted for over three days.  During  one of the hearings, it was discovered that he had over two dates of birth.

This made  many  senators angry including Abraham  Dillon, of Montserrado county to say:

“We will ask plenary to put all of the necessary mechanisms in place so that we forward this man to the Ministry of Justice for prosecution for the crime of perjury,” he said, adding, “He lied under oath that he is from Liberia. He is not from Liberia; he is yet to demonstrate that to the satisfaction of the Senate.”

He continued: “the senate is the last vetting committee for the Republic. Maybe the President’s vetting committee did not do proper vetting,” he told reporters after the hearing. “And not because he slipped through the senate before means that we cannot do the right thing now. At least we have built the courage to do the Liberian people’s work in a way that will please them.”

“He will also be prosecuted for forgery. The manner of acquisition of his certificate of citizenship has to be investigated,” Dillon said.

After the hearing, the president recalled his nomination thus leaving him at the mercy of   his past records. This prompted  the LNBA  to set up an investigation team to authenticate his liberalization case. In that process, a Human Rights Lawyer, Cllr. Finley Karngar  went to  criminal court B to request  the court for  any document that would  authenticate his case.

But the  court  said there was  no document in its archive to support Nwabudike’s naturalization case.  “This is to certify that after a perusal of the records of this  Honorable Court, ono the herein above name person(Augustus Ndubusi Nwabudike) regarding his naturalization of May  A.D. 1982, we have not found any document up to the issuance of this certificate,” wrote Ben George Teah, clerk of court on April 6, 2020.

With this, it places Cllr. Nwabudike in a tight ‘boxing  corner’; to do all he can to redeem his image. TNR