By Festus Poquie
A group of young supporters of the ruling Coalition For Democratic Change, citing dissatisfaction with President George Weah’s rule has jumped ship, endorsing the presidential bid of the main opposition leader Joseph Boakai.
Weah has rewarded the hundreds of thousands of young supporters who secured him the presidency in 2017 with hopelessness and a failed state, Sayou Lawrence leader of the group said in a statement. He said Thursday in Monrovia, the CDC government failed to create the one million jobs it promised after more than five years in office.
“Today, we welcomed new members under the banner “disenchanted Cdcians” to the Unity Party, former Vice President Joseph Boakai said.
“This, for me, is a huge demonstration of confidence reposed in the rescue mission [Campaign to unseat Weah]. As Captain of the team, your Rescue-One, I am upbeat that the time is now for this country to rise again from despair to a buoyant renaissance of hope.
“We remain firmly focused on the months ahead. We must rescue this country together, this is my mission. Don’t sit back, join the rescue team and write your name in history”.
CDC’s Secretary General Jefferson Koijee’s phone could not connect when contacted for comments.
Sixty-six percent of the 4.6 million Liberian population are youth. Those between the ages of 18 and 32 constituted 53% of the voters in the December 2017 runoff elections, according to the Institute of Security Studies.
Weah said on Jan. 22, 2018, his ‘victory could not have been possible without the support of the country’s youth. His administration is offering free university education while the CDC operates a technical vocational school for underprivileged young people.
