08/10/2025
Students Educational Temple CEO Alleges Rampant Nepotism at the National Port Authority.
By: Benedict M. Kerkulah
BONG COUNTY – The Chief Executive Officer of the Students Educational Temple, Mr. Solomon Darkai Kollie, a respected youth advocate and education promoter in B**g County, has strongly condemned what he describes as a systemic culture of nepotism and administrative decay at Liberia’s National Port Authority (NPA) under the leadership of Managing Director, Hon. Sekou Dukuly.
In a public statement titled The NPA From National Port to Nepotism Port Authority, Mr. Kollie accused Mr. Dukuly of turning the nation’s most strategic economic institution into a family plantation, where senior management positions are allegedly occupied by relatives and close associates, in clear violation of the Liberian Code of Conduct for Public Officials.
Mr. Kollie, whose organization has been instrumental in supporting hundreds of Liberian students through mentorship and civic education initiatives in B**g County, said the situation at the NPA is a shameful betrayal of the public trust and a direct affront to President Joseph Boakai’s pledge for integrity and accountability in governance.
Mr. Kollie stated that the NPA has been reduced to a family enterprise where loyalty and bloodline mean more than competence and service to nation
According to his statement, Section 9.7 of the Code of Conduct expressly prohibits public officials from employing, promoting, or favoring close relatives in government institutions.
He said, Mr. Dukuly’s administration at the Port appears to have become a Dukuly dynasty, with nearly twenty relatives allegedly occupying top-level positions and earning thousands of U.S. dollars in salaries each month.
Mr. Kollie names some of the alleged family placements named in the report. Those names include; Ousman Dukuly, brother, Former Executive Director for Transport, earning US$4,500 monthly before dismissal, Abraham Dukuly, brother, Senior Director for Planning, US$4,000, Zuwana Dukuly, brother, Senior Director for Operations, US$4,000, Asatu Dukuly, sister, Assistant Director, US$2,100, Boima A. Dukuly, brother, Senior Director for Archives, US$4,000. Others are, Amara M. Fofana, cousin, Senior Director for Technical, US$4,000, Mariam Dukuly, sister, Senior Director in the Managing Director’s Office, US$4,000, and Hope Gbahaj Dukuly, sister, Expenditure Department, US$2,500 among others.
Mr. Kollie described this alleged pattern of appointments as institutional collapse under the weight of greed and favoritism, noting that while these high-paying positions are reserved for family members, ordinary workers at the Port continue to suffer from low wages, poor working conditions, and lack of incentives.
He further argued that this level of nepotism undermines professionalism and efficiency at one of Liberia’s most critical economic hubs, adding that the Port, once a gateway of commerce, has now become a graveyard of merit where corruption thrives unchecked.
The education advocate also cited the recent resignation of the Chief Justice’s son from government service due to a conflict of interest as a moral example that should have guided other public officials.
Mr. Kollie is therefore calling on the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), the General Auditing Commission (GAC), and the Public Accounts Committee of the Legislature to immediately investigate the NPA for alleged violation of the Code of Conduct and misuse of public office.
He concluded by urging President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to act swiftly in defense of his ARREST Agenda and restore public confidence in government institutions.
