In Summary
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A Facebook blog, Shine Liberia, claimed in a Facebook post that Senator Darius Dillon has said he has no interest in contesting the 2029 election.
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We have verified this claim by reviewing the original video of the Senate’s 42nd day sitting.
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Our review found that the Senator’s statement was taken out of context
On October 14, Shine Liberia, a Facebook blog, claimed that Montserrado County Senator Darius Dillon said he has no interest in contesting the 2029 elections.
The blog referenced a video it posted in the comments as evidence for its claim.
The post generated 259 reactions, 174 comments, and 7 shares.
The Claim
“Sen. Dillon has reiterated that he has no interest in class testing 2029.”
Rating Justification
To verify this claim, we analyzed the video posted by Shine Liberia in the comment section. In the footage, Senator Darius Dillon is heard saying that 2029 is not in his sights. The statement was made on October 14 during the Senate’s 42nd Day Sitting.
To further verify, we located and reviewed the original video of the Senate session. In the full context, Senator Dillon was discussing labor-related issues in Liberia.
He criticized the Minister of Labor for increasing work permit fees rather than advertising job vacancies, which he said the minister claimed was a solution to the concerns raised by the Senate.
In the video, an unidentified voice is heard saying “domestic debts,” followed by another person stating that “the economy is not in the toilet.” Senator Dillon then clarifies that he was not using the microphone to campaign and adds that 2029 is not in his sights.
His exact words were:
“The labor-related issue in this country is troubling. We need to look at it. We must be intentional about it. The Labor Minister increased work permit fees, which, in his view, was a solution to the issues we raise here, by the fact that the Labor Minister, instead of advertising jobs, vacancies, allowed Liberians, qualify Liberians. No, there is no domestic debt. I’m not coming there yet. So, one day, lay (the) thing I can tell your in the consultation room, your will make me put it on the microphone. I’m not using the microphone to campaign. I made it clear that 2029 is not in my sights. So, what we want to do here is for you not to be the laughing stock out there. We can’t create jobs, and the executives give it all, and then we laughing, and the people insulting you.”
Conclusion
Based on the full review of the video, the claim made by Shine Liberia that Senator Dillon said he has no interest in contesting the 2029 elections is out of context.
The Senator’s comment was meant to emphasize that his remarks were not politically driven, not to declare disinterest in future elections.
