NPP-CDC Rift Deepens Over Who Was Really Invited to Opposition Unity Talks
The Capitol Building in Monrovia, seat of Liberia's legislature (file photo; illustrative of Liberian politics). Photo: David Stanley, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A public dispute between CDC and NPP executives over the opposition roundtable's guest list has exposed fresh cracks in Liberia's opposition unity push, days after six parties agreed to form a joint steering committee.
A public spat between executives of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) and the National Patriotic Party (NPP) has exposed early strain in Liberia's opposition unity push, just days after six parties agreed at a Weah-hosted roundtable to form a joint steering committee ahead of 2029.
NPP Chairman George Sylvester Mulbah said his party was not treated with the institutional respect it deserves in the process, insisting the NPP wants genuine decision-making power rather than a subordinate role: "the party is not being accorded due respect in the process." CDC Secretary-General Jefferson Tamba Koijee countered that the NPP was never formally invited as an institution, saying only individual members received invitations in their personal capacity, and accused Mulbah of "unnecessary grandstanding."
The exchange grew personal when Koijee questioned Mulbah's independence, suggesting his role in Vice President Jeremiah Koung's office compromised his objectivity. Mulbah denied being employed by the Vice President's office and challenged Koijee to verify payroll records through Liberia's Freedom of Information Act.
Notably, several NPP members have publicly backed the opposition unity initiative despite their own party leadership's objections, pointing to an internal fracture within the NPP over whether to join the coalition effort. The dispute underscores the difficulty opposition parties have historically faced translating shared grievances against the ruling Unity Party into durable cooperation, following a failed 2016 unity attempt and the collapse of the Collaborating Political Parties coalition.