Who Owns E. J. Roye?

Founded in 1869 in the township of Clay-Ashland in Montserrado County, the True Whig Party (TWP), also known as the Liberian Whig Party, is the oldest political party in Liberia. The party dominated the body politic of Liberia from 1878 until 1980 when the rule of the party was abruptly brought to an end in a coup led by Master Sergeant Samuel Kanyon Doe in which President William R. Tolbert was killed. But 32 years after the grand- old True Whig Party lost state power and its once domineering influence; there are now questions over the ownership of the party's towering eight-storey headquarters on Ashmun Street in Monrovia.

Credible information reaching the New Liberia news desk says  the Government of Liberia and the Party are in a tussle over the ownership of the Grand Old True Whig Party building, once a glittering  and towering structure, now dilapidated and apparently abandoned.

At its prime, according to sources, the building had a classic theater from where iconic figures in the entertainment world, including the famous Mariam Makeba of South Africa, performed and thrilled their audiences. It also housed a number of institutions, including the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA) and business firms. The revenue collected from such activities went directly into the coffers of the True Whig Party.

Interestingly, sources say the undisclosed amount of money used to construct the party’s headquarters was deducted from salary checks of civil servants as well as all those who were gainfully employed in the private sector, in those days.

There are now pressing questions about the ownership of the E. J. Roye Building.  This paper has taken up the task to dig up the facts and to answer the question of ownership of the gigantic towering structure.  Investigation continues.