MONROVIA – Emmanuel Polay Nyan, Propaganda Chairman of the Vanguard Student Unification Party (SUP), has launched a blistering attack against President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s draft national budget for Fiscal Year 2026, describing it as a deliberate scheme to mislead the Liberian people. In a sharply worded statement issued on Sunday, November 9, 2025, Nyan characterized the US$1.2 billion fiscal proposal as a deceptive political tool rather than a development blueprint. The budget was presented to House Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon two days earlier by Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan.
According to Nyan, the budget document lacks the fundamental elements of a genuine national development plan. Instead, he argued, it functions as an elaborate political shield designed to elevate President Boakai and his close allies. He claimed the proposal was carefully drafted to secure praise rather than progress, prioritizing the image of the administration over the needs of ordinary Liberians. To him, the fiscal plan represents a continuation of what he called an entrenched culture of political self-preservation within the Executive.
Nyan asserted that the government’s portrayal of the budget as a milestone in economic planning is nothing more than a strategic distraction meant to divert public attention from worsening living conditions. He said the administration is using the budget process as a tool to manipulate public perception, rather than as a mechanism to deliver meaningful economic relief. This, he stressed, amounts to the systematic betrayal of a population yearning for stability amid rising unemployment and persistent hardship.
He further accused the Boakai administration of engineering policies that suppress opportunity instead of expanding it. Nyan maintained that a responsible fiscal framework should reflect a commitment to improving education, expanding access to healthcare, and supporting economic productivity. Instead, he claimed the proposed budget entrenches inequality and limits prospects for the future of Liberia’s youth, particularly students and young professionals who are already grappling with limited opportunities.
The SUP official announced that beginning Monday, his organization will embark on a nationwide public engagement initiative aimed at exposing what he describes as calculated wickedness embedded in the fiscal plan. The campaign, he said, will seek to educate Liberians across counties about the implications of the draft budget and mobilize them to resist policies that further entrench poverty. He insisted that the people have a right to understand how national resources are being allocated and to challenge decisions that do not reflect their interests.
In his statement, Nyan alleged that the budget’s true purpose is to institutionalize greed and normalize corruption within the public sector. He argued that the allocation patterns reveal a troubling tilt toward political patronage rather than national advancement. To Nyan, the fiscal proposal masks the centralization of wealth in the hands of well-connected individuals while the poor remain subjected to systemic neglect. He warned that such trends, if left unchecked, could have long-term destabilizing effects on the country.
The student leader also criticized what he called the administration’s attempt to legalize public theft under the guise of developmental planning. He contended that the draft budget is structured in a manner that leaves room for unchecked spending, opaque financial practices, and minimal accountability. Nyan claimed the framework creates an enabling environment for public officials to misuse state resources with impunity, thereby eroding public trust and weakening democratic governance.
He was unreserved in his condemnation of the individuals crafting and defending the budget. Labeling them as “heartless” and “wicked,” Nyan insisted that they have weaponized the national budget as an instrument of oppression. He argued that public policy decisions under the Boakai administration continue to prioritize the comfort of political elites at the expense of the vulnerable, particularly those struggling with rising prices, stagnant wages, and failing public services.
Nyan described the budget as a declaration of war against the poor, arguing that the administration has demonstrated little concern for the plight of ordinary citizens. He accused the government of ignoring the daily struggles of market women, students, transport operators, and rural communities that lack basic infrastructure. The SUP propagandist maintained that a government committed to equity would prioritize social spending and inclusive development, not political self-entrenchment.
The statement ends with a call to action for Liberians to remain vigilant and to reject what he sees as a calculated assault on economic justice and transparency. Nyan vowed that SUP will continue to stand with the masses and challenge policies that undermine national progress. As the draft budget moves to the HOR for scrutiny, his remarks add a fiery layer to what is already shaping up to be one of the most contentious fiscal debates of the Boakai administration.
