Liberian Senate Conducts Confirmation Hearing Today on the Controversial Appointment of Nigerian-born Liberian as Chairman of Elections Commission
Published: 27/Mar/2020
Source: Front Page Africa (Monrovia)
By Lennart Dodoo
MONROVIA – Cllr. Ndubusi Nwabudike, a Nigerian-born naturalized Liberian, passed the Senate confirmation to head Liberia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) but there are more raised eyebrows and calls for rejection on his recent nomination to head the National Elections Commission (NEC) and lead the country to the October 2020 senatorial elections and the 2023 presidential and general elections.
The controversy borders around his nationality and allegiance to Liberia despite disclosing that he naturalized as a Liberian citizen, having been born and raised in Nigeria – his father’s land.
He faces the Senate once more for confirmation today.
Cllr. Nwabudike told FrontPageAfrica in an exclusive interview on Sunday pleaded with Liberians to give him a chance. He said, “Let’s do the 2020 By-elections and let them judge me by that,” the nominee said Sunday. “If they feel that I didn’t deliver to them, the true wishes of the people, let them make sure that I don’t get to 2023. I mean, God set it like that. Please, they have a litmus test. Give me just few months to deliver. What I deliver to you. If you’re not sure that it represents the true wishes of our people, then don’t let me go to 2023.”
Addressing the issue of his nationality, Cllr. Nwabudike explained that he is a Liberian, although nationalized. “My nationality is Liberian, let’s settle that and my name is ugly, let’s settle that, this is not the first time. It’s hard to pronounce, but it’s Ndubusi Nwabudike and my parents come from Delta State in Nigeria.”
Cllr. Nwabudike said his father migrated to Liberia in 1946 because of his wife; the grandmother of his wife was a Gola woman. “She wanted to know her history because she was never in Liberia. So, my father came here to trace that lineage. Unfortunately, he came with only a picture, there wasn’t too much history because the lady in question died young, I think she was 28 or 30. So, after staying here for a while, he started a relationship with President Tubman as a consultant. He also worked for Firestone as consultant. He was in Liberia, he naturalized, became a citizen, some of his crowd at that time were the Jones, Wariebi, Adhigibe, people like Brown, Edwin Kaleku, a whole bunch of them, that class. He stayed here until 1960 when Nigeria got independence 1960, 1961 he went back. He was in Nigeria until the civil war in Nigeria started, I think 1967. 1968 he came back here.