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Musa Bility

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Musa Bility
Member of the
House of Representatives of Liberia
Incumbent
Assumed office
2024
Preceded byRoger S. W. Y. Domah
ConstituencyNimba-7
Personal details
Born (1967-04-06) April 6, 1967 (age 57)
Saclepea, Liberia
Political partyLP
Other political
affiliations		UP (before 2016)

Musa Hassan Bility (born April 6, 1967) is a Liberian politician and businessman. Bility held a number of government positions in the administration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Bility served as president of the Liberian Football Association from 2010 to 2018. He sought the FIFA presidency for the 2016 election, but his candidacy was suspended after he failed an integrity check. He received a 10-year ban from FIFA in 2019.

In 2016, Bility jointed the Liberty Party. He was elected chairman of the party in 2021. There was a leadership crisis in the party due to a conflict between him and Political Leader Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence. Bility was elected to the House of Representatives of Liberia in 2023.

Biography

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Musa Bility was born on April 6, 1967, in Saclepea in Nimba County. His mother was Muasia Dulleh Bility. His maternal grandmother was from notable Mano family. He is of the Mandingo ethnicity and of the Islamic faith.[1] He earned a degree in economics from African Methodist Episcopal Zion University in Monrovia in 2008.[2] As a businessman, Bility has owned a number of companies, including the media company Renaissance Communications Inc., which runs Truth FM Radio, Real TV, and Renaissance Newspaper.[3] He also owns Srimex, which by 2015 was Liberia's largest oil importing firm.[2]

Bility was early supporter of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the 2005 election. Bility was given various government appoints under the Sirleaf administration including to bodies such as the National Port Authority, the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporations, and the Liberia Airport Authority.[2] In 2013 during his time at the Liberia Airport Authority, Bility, along with small group, was indicted for, among other things, economic sabotage and criminal conspiracy.[2] The charges against him were dropped in October 2015, two years after they were made, after the government failed to prosecute.[4] During the 2011 election, Bility used his media company to support President Sirleaf's re-election campaign.[5]

Football

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On March 20, 2010, Bility was elected president of the Liberian Football Association (LFA). At the time of his election, he was serving as president of the Watanga FC.[6] In 2011, Bility was one of the few Africans to vote against Sepp Blatter for president of FIFA, instead backing Mohammed bin Hammam's candidacy.[7] He was re-elected as president of the LFA in 2014.[2] Under Bility's LFA presidency, on multiple occasions including in 2013, 2016, and 2017, the LFA failed to pay its employees on time, delaying payment for a duration spanning months.[2][8]

On August 13, 2011, Bility was elected to serve as a vice president of the West African Football Union (WAFU).[9] He was re-elected unopposed in 2016.[10] By 2013, Bility had been elected to serve as a member of the executive committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). On May 2, 2013, Bility was banned by CAF from all football activity for six months. According to the BBC, he had "violated statutes relating to the use of confidential documents" after fighting a rule change which would allow for the unopposed re-election of CAF President Issa Hayatou.[11] The ban was lifted on September 23.[12]

In October 2015, Bility submitted his candidacy for the FIFA presidency.[13] He was the second person to declare his candidacy for the 2016 election after Zico. He was the second African ever to run for the FIFA presidency.[7] His candidacy was not backed by CAF.[14] His campaign manager was former Liberian Speaker of the House Edwin Snowe.[13] In November 2015, Bility was excluded from the election due to failing an integrity check.[15] Bility attempted to appeal the decision to exclude him through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).[16] The reasoning behind the exclusion was not initially made public.[15] In a letter sent by the FIFA electoral committee, a number of reasons for his exclusion were outlined, including his 2013 CAF suspension, the fact that his company Srimex was convicted for tax evasion, and the dismissed Liberia Airport Authority indictment.[17]

Bility transferred the LFA presidency to Mustapha Raji in September 2018, after Raji was elected unopposed.[18] In July 2019, following an investigation of Bility started in May 2018, FIFA banned him for 10 years and charged him US$500,000 in fines due to a violation of the FIFA code of ethics. Allegations against Bility included misappropriating FIFA funds, both annual grants as well as a grant intended to go toward an Ebola prevention campaign, conflicts of interest, and offering and accepting gifts.[19][20] In May 2023, after an attempt to appeal the decision, his ban was upheld by the CAS.[20]

Liberty Party chairman

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Bility resigned from the Unity Party (UP) in October 2016. He joined the Liberty Party (LP).[21] In a convention on January 23, 2021, Bility was elected chairman of the LP, replacing Steve Zargo.[22] At the time of the election, Bility was serving as LP chairman of the national advisory council.[23] He was the first Mandingo chairman of the LP, a party typically associated with the Bassa ethnicity.[1] Some founding members of the LP, including former chairman Aruna Fallah and J. Lemuel Gbadyu, were against his election due his alleged corruption.[24]

By December 2021, there was conflict with in the LP between Chairman Bility and the LP Political Leader Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, with factions forming around the two party leaders.[23] The Karnga-Lawrence faction was larger.[25] Before Bility's chairmanship, the LP had been a founding member of the political alliance known as the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP).[26] In March 2022, the Karnga-Lawrence faction of the LP attempted to leave the CPP, but Bility, as chairman, was able to keep the LP officially within the CPP.[25] With only the Bility faction of the LP and the Alternative National Congress left in the alliance, Bility was made CPP chairman in August 2022.[27]

The LP leadership crisis, involving disputes related to the LP constitution, resulted in a Supreme Court case decided in April 2023. While the Supreme Court ruling lacked finality in regard to the legal questions at hand, the Bility faction declared it a victory in their favor.[28]

House of Representatives

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Bility was elected to the House of Representatives of Liberia in the 2023 election to represent Nimba County's 7th district on the CPP ticket.[29] He defeated incumbent representative Roger S. W. Y. Domah.[1] In April 2024, the CPP was dissolved.[30] Bility sought the position of speaker of the House.[31] His bid for speaker was supported by Senator Prince Johnson.[32] The speaker election was won by Jonathan F. Koffa.[33]

By December 2023, Bility had made a statement rejecting the establishment of a war crimes court in Liberia.[34] By February 2024, Bility presented a bill to the House to amend the nationality laws of Liberia.[35] Among other things, the bill seeks to remove the restrictions from elected office placed on natural born citizens of Liberia who had obtained dual citizenship. The bill unanimously passed the House by September 2024.[36]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Harmon, William Q. (October 21, 2023). "Musa Bility Breaks Tribal Barrier With Legislative Victory". News Public Trust. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "FIFA PRESIDENTIAL RACE PROFILE: Musa Bility". Sporting Intelligence. November 23, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  3. ^ "Liberia: GOL, Musa Bility Tax Case Suspended". Heritage. AllAfrica. July 24, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  4. ^ "Liberia: Gov't Loses Corruption Case Again". Liberian Observer. AllAfrica. October 11, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  5. ^ "Is Liberia Corrupt or supports Corruption?". The New Dawn Liberia. December 1, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  6. ^ "Musa Bility Wins Liberia FA Elections". The New Dawn Liberia. March 20, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Musa Bility: Liberia FA boss to stand for Fifa presidency". BBC. June 18, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  8. ^ "Liberia Football Association Owes Employees Five Months Salary". FrontPage Africa. June 21, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  9. ^ "Bility Elected WAFU VP". The New Dawn Liberia. August 17, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  10. ^ "LFA President Re-elected as WAFU 1st Vice President". Liberian Football Association. February 24, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  11. ^ "Liberia's Musa Bility hit with six-month ban by Caf". BBC. May 2, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  12. ^ "Bility Now A 'Free Man – As CAF Lifts Ban". The New Dawn Liberia. September 24, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Bility formally submits his bid for the Fifa presidency". BBC. October 26, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  14. ^ "Fifa presidency: Caf will not back Musa Bility's bid". BBC. August 6, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Fifa excludes Liberia's Musa Bility from presidency race after integrity test". The Guardian. November 12, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  16. ^ "MUSA HASSAN BILITY FILES AN APPEAL AT THE COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT (CAS)" (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport. December 9, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  17. ^ "Liberia: 'Tax Evasion'". The News. AllAfrica. November 19, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  18. ^ "Liberia: Raji Is LFA's New President". Liberian Observer. AllAfrica. September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  19. ^ "Caf ExCo member Bility banned by Fifa for 10 years". BBC. July 24, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Bility loses appeal as CAS upholds 10-year ban imposed by Fifa". SuperSport. May 4, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  21. ^ "Bility wants protection from Brumskine". The New Dawn Liberia. October 18, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  22. ^ Lomax, Selma (January 23, 2021). "Liberia: Musa Bility Elected Chairman of Liberty Party". FrontPage Africa. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  23. ^ a b Walters, Jermonie S. (December 2021). "LIBERTY PARTY POLITICAL LEADER NULLIFIES BILITY'S CHAIRMANSHIP…. As LP Dilemma Deepens". Women's TV-Liberia. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  24. ^ "LP founding leaders reject Bility". The New Dawn Liberia. February 4, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  25. ^ a b Menjor, David S. (March 22, 2022). "Liberia: CPP Left with ANC". Liberian Observer. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  26. ^ "NEC Accredits CPP to Operate as an Alliance". National Elections Commission. 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  27. ^ "Liberia: CPP Unveils New Framework Document". The New Dawn Liberia. AllAfrica. August 23, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  28. ^ "Liberia: Liberty Party Crisis Appears Far from Over Despite Supreme Court Ruling". FrontPage Africa. April 17, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  29. ^ "2023 House of REPRESENTATIVES ELECTION RESULTS". National Elections Commission. 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  30. ^ Koinyeneh, Gerald C. (April 16, 2024). "Liberia: LP, ANC Go Separate Ways, But Urge a United Opposition to Checkmate Ruling Unity Party". FrontPage Africa. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  31. ^ "As 55th National Legislature Speakership Election Draws Closer, Callers On Radio Questions Musa Hassan Bility's Quest". Global News Network Liberia. November 30, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  32. ^ Watson, Washington Tumay (December 1, 2023). "PYJ Backs Bility For Speakership". New Republic Liberia. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  33. ^ Dodoo, Lennart (January 15, 2024). "Representative Johnathan K. Koffa Secures Speaker Position with a Decisive Victory". FrontPage Africa. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  34. ^ Watson, Washington Tumay (December 6, 2023). "PYJ, Bility Reject War Crimes Court". New Republic Liberia. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  35. ^ Milton, Bridgett (February 14, 2024). "Rep. Bility wants Aliens and Nationality law amended". The New Dawn Liberia. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  36. ^ "House Removes Restrictive Provisions in Dual Citizen Law". Liberian Observer. September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
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