By Sidiki Fofana | Truth In Ink
On every radio station, podcast, and social media platform in Liberia, the breaking news was hard to miss: a political meeting between former President George Manneh Weah, political leader of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), and Alexander B. Cummings, political leader of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) and a former Coca-Cola executive.
The setting, a private meeting at Weah’s residence, sent political analysts and citizens alike into a frenzy of speculation.
The context in which this meeting occurred is critical. Liberia is a nation visibly fatigued by disappointment. President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, elected in late 2023 on the campaign promise of “Rescue,” rode to power not on a wave of mass enthusiasm but on the slender hope that his government would be a decisive break from the past.
Boakai was sold to the Liberian people as a man of experience, maturity, and integrity. In contrast to Weah, who was often described as lacking the policy depth and administrative competence necessary for high office, Boakai’s persona was built around a statesman’s wisdom. As Boima J.V. Boima, a political analyst now exiled in Freetown , wrote shortly after the election, “Boakai’s victory was less a mandate than a statement: that competence and morality must return to the Executive Mansion” (Daily Observer, Jan 2024).
But nearly two years into his presidency, that hopeful narrative is fraying. The Boakai administration is already weighed down by numerous allegations of corruption, internal disarray, and what critics call “executive lethargy.” Among the most controversial issues are the “yellow machines saga” , an opaque procurement scandal involving heavy-duty equipment, and damaging audit reports that suggest continuity, rather than rupture that goes beyond the practices of the previous administration.
Even more damning are the alleged violations of the rule of law, particularly in disregard for the Supreme Court ruling in the legislative impasse, tenure appointments and procurement procedures. The General Auditing Commission’s April 2025 report cited the Ministry of Public Works for “multiple procedural irregularities,” with echoes of similar malpractices under Weah’s watch (GAC Audit Report, 2025).
A Nation in Search of Redemption
When Joseph Boakai was elected in 2023, many Liberians saw it as a turning point, a much-needed rescue from the perceived chaos and incompetence of the George Weah administration. But Liberians are no longer waiting for results, they are coping with disappointment.
The most glaring issue facing the Boakai administration is governance paralysis. Policy direction has been muddled. Key reform initiatives, especially those around judicial reform, decentralization, and youth employment, remain either on the shelf or locked in vague pronouncements.
An emblematic example is the “yellow machines” scandal, a murky procurement deal involving millions of dollars in heavy equipment acquisitions without competitive bidding or transparency. The General Auditing Commission’s 2025 preliminary findings noted “serious breaches of procurement law” and suggested potential conflicts of interest within the Ministry of Public Works (GAC Audit Report, April 2025). Yet, there have been no high-profile dismissals or prosecutions. The Boakai administration has said little—another promise of transparency quietly buried.
Boakai’s appeal was not just his resume; it was his perceived integrity. But character without competence is no guarantee of results. In fact, many now argue that the rescue narrative was just a rebranding of the same system: different face, same dysfunction.
“The people voted for rescue, but what we have is retreat,” said former minister of information Eugene Nagbe during a discussion on OK FM in April. “Boakai has surrounded himself with political loyalists, not reformers. We are watching a return of the same Unity Party patronage network we saw under Sirleaf.”
A leaked report from the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) in March 2025 identified procurement irregularities in over half a dozen government ministries, yet none of the implicated officials have faced public disciplinary measures (LACC Briefing Note, March 2025).
To distract from its failings, the administration has ramped up its media presence, deploying allies in the press and on social media to trumpet achievements and attack critics. The so-called “Class Reloaded” media machine—ostensibly a campaign empowerment initiative—has morphed into a political propaganda platform.
“If the government spent half the energy it puts into media spinning into fixing healthcare, we wouldn’t be here,” said Henry Costa, once an ally of the Unity Party, now one of its most vocal critics, in a fiery Facebook post on May 20, 2025.
Recent polls conducted by the Center for Democratic Accountability show that public confidence in Boakai’s leadership has dropped from 61% in January 2024 to 32% as of May 2025 (CDA Governance Tracker, May 2025). A staggering 68% of respondents said they believe the government is “not serious” about fighting corruption.
Liberia doesn’t lack ideas. What it lacks is execution, discipline, and moral courage. If Boakai truly wants to be remembered as a statesman and not just another caretaker of a broken system, he must act, and act fast. Otherwise, the so-called rescue mission will be remembered as just another detour in Liberia’s long journey toward accountable governance.
Strange Bedfellows, Complementary Strengths
It is against this backdrop that the Weah-Cummings meeting is being dissected. For many Liberians, the encounter signals more than political curiosity. It reflects the potential alignment of two very different political personas—both flawed, both ambitious, but each with assets the other lacks.
Weah, despite the alleged flaws of his presidency, remains one of the most popular political figures in Liberia. His connection to the grassroots is unmatched; he is still adored in the slums of West Point, the market stalls of Duala, and the motorbike ranks of Ganta. His charisma and populist appeal made him a political juggernaut in 2017, and many still credit him with giving voice to Liberia’s poor.
Cummings, by contrast, is widely seen as the technocratic alternative, a man of systems and global connections, with decades of corporate experience. He has struggled to translate this into mass political mobilization but enjoys strong support among the urban educated elite and parts of the diaspora.
His ANC party failed to gain much electoral traction in 2023, but his international profile has only grown, especially among development partners disillusioned with Liberia’s deteriorating governance environment.
“A Weah-Cummings alliance could bring together domestic political energy and international legitimacy: two resources that have not coexisted in Liberian politics since Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s presidency,” noted political historian Dr. Elizabeth Dolo of Cuttington University (FrontPage Africa, June 2025).
Can They Work Together?
Skepticism remains. The two men have clashed before, most notably during the 2023 presidential campaign, when Cummings accused the Weah regime of corruption and incompetence, and Weah dismissed Cummings as “a boardroom politician with no street value.”
But politics is a game of interests, not sentiments. “There are no permanent friends or enemies in politics, only permanent interests,” as Liberia’s political elder statesman the late Harry Greaves once said.
What might unite them now is not personal chemistry but shared political interest: to dethrone a faltering incumbent and reclaim, or finally capture state power.
An Unfinished Chapter
Whether a Weah–Cummings alliance becomes a serious political force or a mere footnote in Liberian political gossip will depend on how it is structured, and whether it speaks to the real frustrations of Liberians. Does it offer just an electoral machine, or a genuine policy alternative? Is it about power, or about purpose?
The symbolism of the meeting is not lost on the public. In it lies a latent possibility, one that could either reset Liberia’s political narrative or plunge it further into the revolving door of elite power swaps.
The road to 2029 has already begun. And with Boakai’s rescue mission looking more like a slow-motion failure, Liberia may be looking not just for new leaders, but for a new kind of leadership.
