Summary: Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon claimed that the Heads of State of the Mano River Union (MRU) have not met in the last eleven years, since April 2013. We have verified this claim and it is incorrect, as the Heads of State met on August 1, 2014, and February 15, 2015, in Conakry, Guinea, to address the Ebola crisis.
On July 23, Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon claimed that for the last 11 years, the Heads of State of the Mano River Union have not met. This means the body had not met since the 22nd Extraordinary Session of the Heads of State held in Monrovia in April 2013.
Senator Dillon, who is also the Chair on Foreign Affairs at the Liberian Senate, made the statement in a Facebook post after participating in this year’s High-Level Ministerial Summit of the MRU in Monrovia.
The Claim
An excerpt from Senator Dillon reads: “The Heads of State of the MRU have not met under this banner for the last eleven years. This Ministerial Summit hopefully sets the stage to reactivate said meetings.”
Rating Justification
To verify the assertion by Senator Dillon, we combed through the internet to see the last time the Heads of State of the MRU met.
Our search found a final communique of the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Mano River Union held at the Royal Grand Hotel in Monrovia on Tuesday 30th April 2013.
A further search found an August 1, 2014, Joint Declaration of Heads of State and Government of Member States of the Mano River Union in a meeting with development partners in Conakry to eradicate Ebola from the sub-region.
In attendance were former Presidents Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone, Professor Alpha Conde of Guinea, and a Representative of Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire.
In addition, on February 15, 2015, the Heads of State of the MRU met again in Conakry, Guinea, to strategize to achieve Zero Ebola Infection in 60 days in the region by April 15, 2015. This is about nine years ago.
Conclusion
Based on these findings, we conclude that the claim made by Senator Abraham Darius Dillon that the Heads of State of the Mano River Union have not met in 11 years is incorrect.
The body met on February 15, 2015, in Conakry Guinea, to strategize and achieve zero Ebola Infection in the region in 60 days. This is about nine years ago.
This report is produced with funding from the USAID Media Activity. The funder has No say in the editorial decisions leading to the production of this content
