MONROVIA, Montserrado – Several days after it was first reported that Sam Mannah, presidential press secretary, had been suspended, senior government officials have avoided confirming or denying the report.

On Tuesday, August 14, The Bush Chicken contacted Eugene Fahngon, deputy information minister for public affairs, to speak on the issue. However, he said he could not make any pronouncement on Mannah’s alleged suspension. He also advised the public to avoid taking any social media commentary by Mannah as official government statement: “the

statement posted by Mannah on social media does not represent the government.”

The deputy minister, who has been known to be quite vocal on Facebook, said the government does not operate from Facebook.

“The government is responsible and if, for any reason, a decision has been reached by the president, who appointed Mannah and sees it faith to suspend or dismiss him, the public deserves to know,” Fahngon added.

News about Mannah’s suspension went viral recently on social media and took many Liberians by surprise.

On Monday PUNCH, a local online news outlet, reported that government sources who spoke on condition of anonymity disclosed that since Mannah’s suspension, he has not been seen anywhere near the president’s Foreign Ministry office. The officials added that he had also not been visible in most social gatherings and at entertainment centers frequented by his colleagues and even his boss.

PUNCH also reported that it had learned that the presidential press secretary’s suspension stems from derogatory statements he made about his boss, President George Weah.

Again, quoting unnamed sources, the report said Mannah was recently heard bragging that he’s the architect of most, if not all, of Weah’s correspondences, even to the point that he was heard boasting of being the author of most of the president’s speeches.

Last Thursday, Mannah posted on his verified Facebook page: “Just thinking out loud. Since when did a press secretary shoulder the responsibility of writing letters on behalf of the president to other branches of government? Big difference between press secretary and an executive secretary. Furthermore, there’s a longstanding tradition within the executive, and that tradition has not changed.”

The post from Mannah, according to PUNCH, apparently corroborates its government sources’ assertions about his suspension.

PUNCH also reported that it independently confirmed that Mannah claimed to have taken tests for the president while he was pursuing his online master’s degree with the American for-profit college, Devry University.

The Bush Chicken has not independently confirmed these reports by PUNCH.

Mannah served as media aid to Weah during his days as a senator of Montserrado.

Featured photo by Zeze Ballah