By Festus Poquie
Dispute over a bridge project in a remote area of Bong County has escalated into a wider political confrontation between Representative Musa Hassan Bility and Senator Prince Moye.
Opposition politician Musa Hassan Bility, who represents Nimba County’s 7th District, initiated construction of the bridge, prompting resistance from Senator Moye.
The Ministry of Public Works has since informed Bility that the administration of President Joseph Boakai will undertake the bridge project, effectively taking it under government management.
Senator Moye, a dominant figure in Bong County politics since 2011, has publicly criticised Bility’s involvement in development activities in the county and accused the CMC political leader of profiting at the expense of Bong residents.
Moye’s office says the matter raises questions about the handling of county resources.
Bility has strongly denied the allegations. In a statement issued Wednesday in Monrovia, he described claims that he or his company, Srimex Oil & Gas, collected county funds from China Union as “entirely false, misleading, and without any basis in fact.”
He said neither he nor Srimex — a Liberian owned private company — received government or Bong County funds from China Union or acted on the county’s behalf in any related financial transaction.
According to Bility, the controversy dates to China Union’s operational crisis in 2016, when the company sought technical and operational support from several institutions. Bility said all parties declined except Srimex, which entered a private sector commercial agreement with China Union. He emphasised the deal was strictly commercial and did not involve county or public funds.
Bility said Srimex invested more than US$5 millions of private capital to rehabilitate and convert the China Union terminal from Heavy Fuel Oil storage to accommodate Automotive Gas Oil. He added that the investment enabled government rehabilitation of Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) tanks and helped maintain the national fuel supply.
He also stated that Srimex operated the terminal with the knowledge and oversight of relevant regulators, including the Government of Liberia, the LPRC and the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA). Bility claimed the arrangement generated more than US$150 million in taxes and related revenues for the government over eight years, figures he says are verifiable in LRA records.
On the specific issue of Bong County payments, Bility said neither he nor Srimex played any role in agreements, waivers or concessions between Bong County and China Union. He accused Senator Moye — who he says was a serving lawmaker at the time — of signing a waiver that halted China Union’s county payment obligations and called Moye’s current allegations an attempt to shift responsibility.
Bility urged public officials to exercise caution in making public statements and called on citizens to scrutinize information closely. He invited Senator Moye, who chairs the Legislature’s Ways, Means and Finance Committee, to pursue any concerns through legal and legislative channels rather than through public allegation.
