Margibi finally gets new Superintendent

At long last, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has appointed a female superintendent for Margibi, a county that voted in both the first and second rounds of the 2023 elections.

By Ramsey N. Singbeh, Jr.

Margibi County, Liberia, March 28, 2024—Following months of intense struggle amongst Margibians, especially those from the ruling Unity Party, for the county’s superintendent position, President Joseph Nyumah Boakai has finally appointed Attorney Victoria Worlobah Duncan, a former assistant superintendent for development, to the post.

Madam Duncan, a former representative candidate who once served as a magistrate in Margibi, was announced through the Executive Mansion Website on March 26, 2024.

She replaces former superintendent Jerry O Varnie, whose administration was surrounded by condemnations and controversies. 

A supporter of Boakai during the 2023 elections, she is among several others who expressed interest in the job immediately after the elections, starting as early as January 2024.

Names that surfaced prior to her appointment are Joshua Velleh Robinson, Sr., Ojay Morris, Jr., Victoria Worlobah Duncan, and Ballah G. Zayzay.

Others are Cecelia Kessele Doe, Abel Nyumah Plackie and Emmanuel Goll as well as Owandar M. Dunor.

Mr. Robinson served as an assistant superintendent for development in Margibi under Ex-President Sirleaf and contested for the senate in 2023 to support Boakai.

Ojay Morris, Jr. served the UP in the county in several other positions and is now party secretary general. He is also regarded as someone who made tremendous efforts to reawaken the party in the county before the 2023 elections, working with auxiliaries.

Madam Duncan was a former assistant superintendent for development during the Sirleaf Administration under former Superintendent John Zubah Buway, who showed minutes of interest in the position before Madam Duncan’s appointment.

She vied for Margibi district#4 seat in 2023, but lost.

Ballah G. Zayzay, a former representative of Margibi County District#2, was on the ballot as the UP Senatorial Candidate in the 2023 elections.

Abel Nyumah Plackie served as deputy press secretary to former President Sirleaf. He supports Boakai, and according to some, his father is a good friend of President Boakai.

Cecelia K. Doe is the current Chairperson of the UP in the county. She works at the Roberts International Airport.

Emmanuel Goll is the City Mayor of Kakata and a member of the NPP, one of the parties that formed a political marriage with the CDC.

Owandar M Dunor is a former President of the Margibi Muslim Council and a very good friend of the Unity Party National Vice Chair for Governmental Affairs, Ben A. Fofana. Former Representative Fofana is said to have seriously considered Mr. Dunor’s interest in becoming superintendent, but it did not work out for him.

From the onset, most of the names associated with the UP in the county were placed under public scrutiny for the superintendent position, and two were said to be the best, according to the criteria set up.

The two are Ojay Morris, Jr., and Cecelia K. Doe, the party’s Secretary General and Chairperson in Margibi. The UP and most of its associates in the county favored and sent the two names to their national leadership for final vetting and onward submission to the President for appointment, but this did not yield the expected result.

Amidst all this, different lists with different names were being presented from the county to the President and some UP officials for consideration.

The UP Campaign Manager for Margibi John Zubah Buway and his team pushed their interest, former Representative Fofana and the Party’s leadership pushed their own side, while Ballah G. Zayzay and his likes favored their own people.

This according to sources from the UP brought nomination for the post to a standstill in the county.

The UP leadership also seriously informed its national leadership through a resolution that the county superintendent must come from the party’s mainstream.

According to them, Margibi has an opposition caucus, so it needs someone to keep the party and its supporters together until 2029.

Madam Ducan contested for one of the parties that collaborated with the UP, and many party supporters consider her a sympathizer rather than a member.

The investigation has discovered that some top UP supporters in the United States of America, hailing from Margibi, recommended that no one with a corruption record be appointed to the position.

They also condemned many of the names mentioned above.

Her appointment is greeted with mixed reactions. Some Margibians believe she will deliver, while others think she is not best suited for the post.

A few days ago, some UP officials raised serious concern upon hearing that Former Superintendent John Zubah Buway was poised to be appointed by the President.

They along with some citizens of the county threatened to protest, if Buway was appointed.  

In the end, President Boakai laid all the fights and propaganda to rest by nominating Madam Victoria Worlobah Duncan for the position, becoming perhaps the first female superintendent for the county. Editing by Jonathan Browne