Monrovia, Montserrado County | The Office of the President, through Deputy Presidential Press Secretary Joseph K. Vallai, has forcefully rejected claims made by Simeon Freeman, Political Leader of the Movement For Progressive Change (MPC), regarding the size and composition of the Presidential convoy.
In a statement, Vallai described Mr. Freeman’s commentary as “steeped in political distortion rather than fact” and characterized the opposition figure’s claims as an attempt to “mislead the public for political effect.”
On October 10, 2025, the MPC Political leader in a statement on his official Facebook page criticized President Boakai for the number of vehicles in his official convey which did not meet the expectation Vallai and other officials of the ruling Unity Party government.
Mr. Freeman statement on Oct. 10 titled: The Liberian Presidential Convoy’s Length
Pre-election, President Boakai’s convoy was, at most, 5 cars. When he was vulnerable and exposed as an opposition leader, he criss-crossed the country, with about 3 to 4 cars. He was accessible and available. For his sake, millions of citizens, braved the fierced rain and harsh thunder to behold the person, perceived to hold a solution to Liberia’s challenges.
Apparently afraid of the very electorate, who may never realize a reinstitution of harmonized pay, rides one of the longest convoys in Africa. So many cars, with huge maintenance costs, sufficient enough to build some 1000 low cost houses annually for our poor people, yet the very long convoy is not considered wasteful spending.
The cost of maintaining the President and Vice President’s convoys is sufficient to finance 10 new factories every year. We are urging the President to cut wasteful spending.
My Presidency will use not more than 6 cars because the people are not my enemies, from whom protection is required.
Vallai in a sharp response to the statement, addressed the core of Mr. Freeman’s argument, which seemingly involved counting numerous vehicles seen near the President at public events. The Deputy Press Secretary clarified that many of the vehicles following the President are not part of the official, state-assigned convoy.
“First and foremost, not every vehicle seen behind the President belongs to the official Presidential convoy,” Vallai stated. He explained that other public officials, security auxiliaries, invited dignitaries, and even private citizens often accompany or follow the President to national events based on necessity.
Vallai stressed that these vehicles “are not part of the state-assigned convoy, nor are they maintained by government resources.”
The true Presidential convoy, he clarified, is strictly composed of vehicles assigned for:
- Safeguarding the President’s movement.
- Security units.
- Medical response teams.
- Essential protocol.
“The attempt by Mr. Freeman to inflate its size by counting unrelated vehicles is simply misleading the public for political effect,” the Deputy Press Secretary asserted. He added that the effort to dramatize convoy numbers without referencing an authoritative security or state protocol source “reveals a deliberate bending of the truth.”
Vallai then launched a direct rebuke of Mr. Freeman, a private businessman, suggesting he dedicate his efforts to improving his own commercial ventures.
“As a private businessman and opposition figure, Mr. Freeman would better serve the public by focusing on improving the quality of his own DSTV services, which consistently falter with the slightest rainfall,” Vallai remarked. “Liberians deserve uninterrupted service, not interruptions followed by lectures on matters far beyond his expertise.”
The Presidential aide concluded by emphasizing that while “Leadership is built on facts, not fabrication,” the Presidency remains open to constructive criticism. However, it “will not be distracted by commentary rooted in misrepresentation of the truth.” Vallai urged the MPC Political Leader to show a “molecule of respect for the truth,” calling it a “simple duty of a civilized citizen.”
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