President Joseph N. Boakai has challenged citizens of Lofa County to forge a united front in restoring the county to its previous status as ‘the Breadbasket of Liberia.’ The President’s call was contained in his keynote address delivered on his behalf by Anthony V. Kesselly, Deputy Minister of State for Public Affairs at the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs.
The event was the Inaugural Ball and Fundraising Dinner of the Federation of Lofa Associations in the Americas (FLAA), held on Saturday, October 4, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Deputy Minister Kesselly reminded his fellow Lofa citizens that the Liberian Leader is a seasoned elder whose passionate interest is in fostering peace, reconciliation, healing, and harmony.
He said President Boakai views the prevalence of the climate of peace and togetherness as the key necessity for a workable pursuit of the nation’s social and economic development to attaining of prosperity. Boakai’s envoy cited multiple instances at various occasions in which the President elaborated his perspectives on the need for the nation to be reconciled and set on a course of common purpose.
The Deputy Minister for Public Affairs at the Ministry of States referred to the President’s lucid narration of his vision at the recently concluded Liberia Diaspora Conference in Washington D.C., as well as the 60th Commemorative Anniversary of the Establishment of Bong, Grand Gedeh, Lofa and Nimba Counties in 1964, held in Voinjama, Lofa County, in last December.
The Minister told the citizens of Lofa that the President looks up to them to “rise up to the role of bridge builders, pushing the cause of rapprochement, striving to erase lines of antagonistic demarcation and nudging perceived enemies to pull toward each other.” He conveyed the President’s pledge to lend substantial support to any undertaking in the diaspora targeted at positively impacting the situation in Lofa.
The ceremony featured the formal induction into office of the newly elected corps of FLAA officials, headed by Mr. James Saywala Kennedy from the state of Texas. Other officials inducted were Vice President Lucia Dunor of Ohio, Secretary Aaron Kpehe of Kentucky, Treasurer Dedeh Wiaka of Ohio, Financial Secretary Dwanah S. Dwanah of New Jersey, and Chaplain Reverend Dr. Joe B.M. Biaty of Boston.
