Two Top Charles Taylor Men In Big Showdown

The office of the chairman of the ruling National Patriotic Party (NPP) was reportedly a scene of drama on Tuesday, when Cllr. Jenkins K. Z. B. Scott, the legal advisor to President Charles Taylor, and NPP Chairman Chief Cyril Allen got in a war of words.

According to sources, Cllr. Scott had ostensibly gone there to seek membership of the ruling party, but was asked by Chief Allen to start off the process at either the constituency level or at the office of the party’s Secretary General.

After that clarification by the NPP chairman, Cllr. Scott was said to have allegedly asked Mr. Allen to assist him with the amount of US$100.00, so he(Scott) could solve some financial problem, sources disclosed.

That request apparently did not go down well with Chief Allen who termed it as blackmail, thus asked Mr. Scott to leave or be evicted by his office aides.

The NPP chairman when contacted by our correspondent to comment on the incident, explained that his action against Cllr. Scott was based on the fact that he realized that he (Scott) had only gone to beg him for money but came under false pretense, as if he had come to join the NPP.

Chief Allen further disclosed to our reporter that this was not the first time that Cllr. Scott had visited his office to ask him for money.

He even recounted that when Cllr. Scott filed a legal suit at the Supreme Court of Liberia against the holding of the pending presidential and general elections due to the inaccessibility of Lofa County, he visited him to request for some money to help him fight the case.

The NPP boss then accused Cllr. Scott of being one of the past government officials who destroyed the late President Samuel Doe, and who has come again to destroy the NPP’s standard bearer, President Charles Taylor.

For his part, when contacted by our reporter, Cllr. Jenkins Scott vehemently denied that he had gone to the office of the NPP chairman to beg for money. He said the only reason for which he went to see Chief Allen on Tuesday, was for him to acquire a bonafide membership of the NPP, and not for money.

Cllr. Scott said he went to the NPP chairman to join the party for the sake of peace, unity and prosperity. He said ignorance and the subordination of personal arrogance must be dealt with for the good of the nation which is in obedience of God’s command to man that we should obey leaders and those in authority.

The former Attorney General of Liberia in the Doe regime used the occasion to call on Liberians to put aside their personal interests, and not to allow their feeling and dislike towards their compatriots and the incumbent President be the basis for establishing opposition or to join new political parties.

He cautioned that the politics of negation through deception and the manipulation of the truth, as carried out by some higher-ups in the society and character assassination should be halted.

"I may not have been permitted or encouraged to join the ranks of the NPP if the current political leadership of the country was not seeking unity for the purpose of achieving unity and the lost status and image of the country", the one-time Minister of Justice observed.

He then accused Mr. Allen of being one of those around President Taylor who are causing problems for him(President). "The President must be mindful of people such as Mr. Allen who does not want his fellow Liberian to live in peace in their own country", he quipped.

Cllr. Scott however, recalled being assisted financially and in kind by Mr. Allen, when he (the latter)was serving as Chairman of the National Investment Commission but reiterated that on this particular Tuesday, and swore upon Allah that he did not beg for any assistance.

Our investigations continue.