MONROVIA – Dr. Lester Tenny has officially resigned as Vice President for Finance and Fiscal Affairs at the University of Liberia, bringing an end to his tenure amid what he described as an increasingly unhealthy working environment.
Tenny disclosed his resignation while recounting a recent meeting with President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, saying the Liberian leader advised him to exercise wisdom rather than immediately leave his position despite the difficult circumstances surrounding his work at the University of Liberia.
According to Tenny, he met with President Boakai last Wednesday in the presence of several senior government officials. He said the meeting focused, among other things, on the circumstances surrounding his position and the broader challenges he faced in carrying out his responsibilities.
Tenny said President Boakai made it clear that he did not want to establish a precedent in which officials are removed from their positions simply because other people are unhappy with them.
“He does not want to set a precedent where people will be removed because other people are angry,” Tenny recalled the President as saying.
Tenny said President Boakai also acknowledged the difficulties associated with serving as a young official in an environment where, according to him, people could become hostile toward someone simply for performing the responsibilities of the office.
The former UL financial affairs chief said the President’s long experience in public service influenced the way he viewed the situation.
“You know, the thing about President Boakai is perhaps his long years of public service puts him in a position where he see things from three dimensions,” Tenny said.
According to Tenny, President Boakai advised him that, if he were in Tenny’s position, he would not resign.
“But we are in Africa, and in an unhealthy working environment, use wisdom,” Tenny quoted the President as telling him.
Tenny said the phrase “use wisdom” became the most important message he took away from the meeting.
“And that is the key word I took from the President: ‘Use wisdom,’” he said.
Despite the President’s reported advice, Tenny ultimately submitted his resignation from the University of Liberia’s Vice Presidency for Finance and Fiscal Affairs.
The resignation was formally acknowledged by UL President Layli Maparyan, Ph.D., who on Sunday, August 22, 2026, informed the University’s Cabinet, Internal Audit Department and President’s Office staff of the development.
In a memorandum, Maparyan said she had received Tenny’s resignation letter by email on Saturday.
“In response to this departure, I have appointed Mr. Togar M. Gibson as Acting Vice President for Finance and Fiscal Affairs,” Maparyan stated.
Gibson, who serves as the University’s Comptroller in the Business and Finance Office, will temporarily hold both positions during the transition.
According to the UL memorandum, Gibson will continue serving as Comptroller while simultaneously performing the duties of Acting Vice President for Finance and Fiscal Affairs until the University’s Board of Trustees can be consulted on the way forward.
The University has also directed that all communications and concerns relating to financial matters be addressed to Gibson, effective immediately.
Maparyan thanked Gibson for accepting the additional responsibility during the transition and instructed relevant university offices to share the information across their networks.
Tenny’s departure places the University’s financial administration under temporary leadership while the administration awaits consultation with the Board of Trustees on a longer-term arrangement.
His resignation also raises questions about the working environment within the University’s financial administration and the circumstances that led a senior financial official to leave his position despite an appeal, as Tenny recounted it, from the President of Liberia not to resign.
While Tenny did not provide details in the remarks about specific individuals or incidents he believed contributed to the unhealthy environment, his account points to tensions surrounding his role and the challenges of carrying out financial responsibilities in a highly scrutinized public institution.
For now, the University of Liberia has moved quickly to ensure continuity in its financial operations, with Gibson assuming responsibility for the office while the institution determines its next steps.
