Liberia’s Presidential Inauguration Suspended After Boakai Takes ill

The New Diplomat
Writer

Ad

The Gift of Hindsight: What I Would Tell My Younger Self, By Johnson Babalola

By Johnson Babalola @jbdlaw Hindsight, they say, is life’s most generous teacher—but it sends its lessons late. It is only after the storms that the patterns become clear; only after the wrong turns that the map begins to make sense. As I celebrate another birthday today and have grown older, I often find myself reflecting…

Gasoline Prices Drop Toward Pandemic-Era Lows

The national average price of gasoline dropped below $3 a gallon over the weekend. GasBuddy has predicted that prices will go even lower in the coming weeks, with good prospects of motorists enjoying sub-$3 prices for extended periods. This drop is overwhelmingly being driven by the significant increase in oil production from OPEC throughout 2025.…

Alleged Christian Genocide Claim is Damaging Nigeria’s Image– Tuggar Laments

By Abiola Olawale Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has voiced concern over what he described as the damaging impact of the "Christian genocide" narrative on Nigeria's international image. This is as the Minister claimed that the country's complex security challenges are being falsely simplified as religious persecution. Speaking at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit…

Ad

By Agency Report

The swearing-in ceremony of Liberia’s new President Joseph Boakai came to an abrupt end on Monday after he appeared uncoordinated and was helped out of the podium by security details.

The 79-year-old had taken the oath of office, but mid-way into his acceptance speech, he stuttered to a halt.

It was hot and humid with some guests fanning themselves during the ceremony, broadcast live on State Television.

An aide removed Boakai’s traditional cap, while others fanned him before he was escorted out of the venue, thus ending the event unceremoniously.

Dignitaries at the event included President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana with his wife, Liberia’s outgoing President George Weah and his wife, Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina.

It was not immediately clear whether he would attend the inaugural ball later in the day.

Boakai, a former vice president with decades in politics, defeated George Opong Weah in the July 2023 run-off by 50.89% of the votes.

He inherits a difficult socio-economic environment, characterised by high youth unemployment, spiralling inflation, and high crime rate, especially drug abuse among unemployed and uneducated young people.

Taking over from Weah 57, it would have been a generational transfer of power, but Boakai has a relatively younger vice president, Jerrnai Koung, who is 45. AIT

Ad

X whatsapp