Liberia: President Weah 5th Annual Message to National Legislature

Published: 24/Jan/2022
Source: Liberia Presidency

Extract:

Fellow Liberians;

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen:

I stand before you today in fulfilment of a duty in accordance with Article 58 of the Constitution of Liberia, which mandates that the President of Liberia, on the fourth working Monday in January of each year, is to present the Legislative Program of the Administration for the ensuing session, and report on the State of the Republic, covering the economic condition of the Nation, including expenditure and income.

[…]

Two hundred years ago, some of our forebears returned to our shores, after enduring four centuries of bondage in slavery, and helped to found the Republic of Liberia.

As I said during my remarks at the Kick-Off program held this month on Providence Island to commemorate the day that the settlers landed here, we must redouble our efforts to promote unity amongst all Liberians worldwide, and encourage all to make meaningful contributions to the nation-building task of our country. For …”in union strong, success is sure. We cannot fail…”

We therefore would like to commend the Honorable Supreme Court for its Opinion handed down on the Twenty-Third of December 2019, which found that certain provisions of the Alien and Nationality Law are inconsistent with the Constitution of Liberia.

For instance, the current Alien and Nationality Law provides that a natural-born Liberian citizen automatically loses his or her citizenship, without any due process of law in a court in Liberia, upon taking up citizenship of another country or acting in some capacity for that country. This law undermines our quest for unity amongst all Liberians – everywhere!

Therefore, as we celebrate the Bicentennial anniversary of the founding of our country, I want to call on the Honorable Members of this 54th Legislature, in particular the Liberian Senate, to consider passage of the Bill currently before you, which seeks to codify the Opinion of the Honorable Supreme Court and make it more true that … “once a Liberian – always a Liberian.”

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Read full address: https://gnnliberia.com/2022/01/25/liberia-pres-weah-5th-annual-message-to-national-legislature-full-speech-january-24-2022/

At presidency (PDF): https://emansion.gov.lr/doc/Janaury%2024%20SONA.pdf

Themes: Dual Nationality
Regions: Liberia
Year: 2022