SANNIQUELLIE, Nimba – Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung has embarked on an appreciation tour in Nimba to thank citizens for supporting him during the 2023 elections that brought him and President Joseph Boakai to the presidency.
Boakai and Koung ran as candidates for president and vice president, respectively, on the Unity Party ticket. They won 59.53 percent of the 248,352 votes in Nimba during the October 10 polls to enter the runoff with the incumbent George Weah of the Coalition for Democratic Change. The UP also won with 74.14 percent of the total votes in Nimba during the runoff.
While appreciating Nimbaians, Koung said his visit would also pave the way for the president’s first official visit after the elections to show appreciation for Nimbaians.
Koung, who hails from Nimba, arrived in the county on Wednesday, May 15, and was escorted by hundreds from Sokopa to Ganta, where he thanked his supporters before attending an intercessory service at the Christian Bible Church.
At the church, he expressed gratitude that Nimbaians elevated him from a businessman to representative of Nimba’s first district for two successive terms before he was elected senator of the county in 2020 and then vice president in 2023.
He told the crowd, “You took me from down there – from nowhere – you called me and said we will make you representative. From there, you carried me back as representative. Then you said no, this representative thing [is] small, so, let us make this man senator. Then, from there, you say we’re pushing this man in front, and we are here now.”
On Thursday, May 16, the vice president, accompanied by Nimba’s Sen. Prince Johnson, chair of the Governing Council of Koung’s Movement for Democracy and Reconciliation, extended his tour to Sanniquellie. There, he met hundreds of people at the Organization for African Unity Monument, where he thanked his supporters before attending another intercessory service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Chiefs line up to await Vice President Koung’s arrival in Sanniquellie. Photo: Jerry Myers
Koung said the various intercessory services were organized because, through God’s Grace, his ticket defeated the ruling party, which had all the resources during the elections.
Meanwhile, Sen. Johnson also thanked the people of Nimba for assisting him to dethrone the CDC, saying that his wish for a vice president to come from Nimba had been fulfilled because of the people. He applauded Nimba for showing strong support for the combined Unity Party-MDR ticket.
“Nimba stood her ground,” he said. “I stood on this historic ground and said I wanted to live to see Nimba produce a vice president, and you did it.”
Meanwhile, Nimba’s superintendent welcomed the vice president and his entourage to Sanniquellie, reminding them that Sanniquellie is the birthplace of the Organization of African Unity, the predecessor to the African Union. Kou Meapeh Gono asked that Koung join her to advocate for the African Union to reclaim its historic tie to Sanniquellie.
(L-R) Senator Prince Johnson, Superintendent Meapeh Gono, and Vice President Jeremiah Koung making remarks in Sanniquellie. Photo: Jerry Myers
Gono said that when the African Union is discussed, people only talk about Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, not realizing Sanniquellie is the birthplace of the regional body.
She said her goal is for the A.U. to recognize Sanniquellie’s significance beyond naming the “small roundabout” known as OAU Square in the city.
“The A.U. today must come back and look at Sanniquellie,” she said.
The vice president’s tour will continue to other parts of Nimba.
Featured photo by Jerry Myers
