A one time diehard supporter and legal counselor of former President Charles Taylor, Cllr. Francis Garlawolo has accused Charles Taylor of interfering in domestic politics in the country.

Cllr. Garlawolo, one of the over fifty Presidential aspirants (a candidate for the Standard Bearership for the National Patriotic Party - NPP) made the revelation recently when he spoke on a local radio station, promising to press forth his allegation.

According to Cllr. Garlawolo, he was pulling out of the on-going NPP primary taking place outside Monrovia because, as he put it, Mr. Taylor is interfering in the process by supporting a particular candidate for the top position in the party.

Although Mr. Garlawolo did not name the individual who is allegedly being supported by the former warlord, those in the race for the NPP position include Emmett Taylor and Dr. Roland Massaquoi. Both men a close associates of former President Taylor and they served in his government. Mr. Emmett Taylor is a relative of former President Taylor, while Dr. Massaquoi is his a close associate.

Dr. Massaquoi worked in the Taylor Administration as Minister of Agriculture and Planning and economic Affairs Minister. He was also appointed by the former leader as head of the so-called national conference ( Vision 2024) on the future of Liberia.

Mr. Emmett Taylor served in the Charles Taylor Administration as Minister of Public Works and was at the center of an allegation for allegedly miss-managing funds intended for the construction of the Logan Town Road.

According to Cllr. Garlawolo, members of his campaign team have protested to the head of the NPP primaries over the alleged Taylor’s interference into the party’s politics, saying that he was withdrawing from the exercise until action was taken to curtail the situation.

Cllr. Garlawolo’s accusation against Mr. Taylor, a man whose interest he represents in legal matters, seems to confirm several allegations from some quarters in Liberia as well as from the United Nations panel of experts that Mr. Taylor continues to exert some level of inference in Liberian politics.

Meanwhile, Mr. Abu Musa, the acting head of United Nations Mission (UNMIL) in Liberia, says the Mission is taking the allegation against Mr. Taylor seriously and will take the appropriate action.