MONROVIA – A dispute over appointments at the National Identification Registry (NIR) has resurfaced, with F. Alphonso Y. Belleh II declining his recent designation as Manager for Research, Policy, and Development Planning, citing misalignment with the position to which President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. had nominated him.
Belleh, in a letter dated August 28, 2025, addressed to Internal Affairs Minister Francis S. Nyumanlin, who chairs the NIR Board, expressed disappointment and frustration over the appointment. He recalled that President Boakai nominated him in February 2024 to serve as Deputy Executive Director for Administration, not in the role he was eventually offered.
“When I was invited to collect an appointment letter, I believed the matter had been concluded and that I was finally to assume the role to which the President had nominated me,” Belleh wrote. “It is therefore deeply disheartening to now receive a letter appointing me to an entirely different position, contrary to the assurances and promises made.”
The disagreement highlights lingering confusion over the appointment authority at the NIR. Under the National Identification Registry Act of 2011, the Board of Registrars is explicitly empowered to appoint both the Executive Director and the Deputy Executive Director. Section 4.6(d) of the Act makes clear that such appointments fall under the jurisdiction of the Board, not the presidency.
The Board is chaired by Minister Nyumanlin of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, past instances have revealed tensions between presidential nominations and the statutory powers of the NIR Board. In 2024, Executive Director Andrew Peters challenged the appointment of Dr. Edward Liberty as Executive Director by President Boakai, arguing that the President did not have the authority to make such an appointment under the Act.
Belleh maintained that his refusal of the new assignment was not motivated by disregard for the institution but by principle. According to him, his service should reflect the role to which the President nominated him, rather than one that undermines both the nomination process and his expectations. He urged the Board to find another qualified person for the Research, Policy, and Development Planning role.
Despite his rejection, the Board of Registrars has already moved ahead by naming a new appointee to serve as Deputy Executive Director for Administration, the very post at the center of the controversy.
