MONROVIA, Liberia — Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has publicly defended his decision to resign from a prestigious senior role at the African Development Bank (AfDB) to rejoin the Government of Liberia, insisting the move was driven by patriotism and not personal gain.
Speaking on OK FM's afternoon show on September 17, 2026, Ngafuan said his return to Cabinet was comparable to a military reservist answering a call to active duty.
“We are like reservists,” Ngafuan said. “Once the Commander-in-Chief calls for old soldiers and says, ‘come back to war, there is a battle to fight’ — once the Commander-in-Chief commands, it is an instruction.”
The statement comes amid intense public debate in Monrovia over why a technocrat managing a development portfolio reportedly valued at US$2.2 billion in Uganda would leave the AfDB for a challenging domestic job.
Ngafuan used the interview to trace his personal debt to Liberia. He described himself as a direct product of the public education system.
“Liberia has been good to me. I am a product largely of government schools,” he said.
He recalled attending Boswein Junior High School in rural Liberia, then the Booker Washington Institute (BWI) in Kakata, and later the University of Liberia — institutions that shaped his early career.
His professional breakthrough, he noted, also came from a Liberian public institution.
“I was hired meritocratically by the Central Bank of Liberia. I got a scholarship from the CBL to study in the United States, so Liberia has been good to me, and it was an opportunity to pay back,” he explained.
That scholarship paved the way for advanced studies in the United States, which later qualified him for international roles including his recent assignment with the AfDB in East Africa.
Addressing speculation that his return was motivated by political ambition or financial incentives, Ngafuan was blunt.
“It was not about resources, but about coming back to perform a patriotic duty,” he stated.
According to him, salaries and benefits at the AfDB far outweighed what any Liberian ministry could offer. The decision, therefore, was a deliberate sacrifice.
He said he also wanted to serve alongside President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung at a critical time for the country's economy.
“And also, to join many others like the President, Vice President, and the Cabinet to do my part so that we can advance the development agenda — that's the reason why I came back,” he said.
Since taking over the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Ngafuan has been at the center of several key reforms: pushing domestic revenue mobilization through the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), tightening public financial management to control wasteful spending, and renegotiating support with the World Bank, IMF, and AfDB.
Liberia is currently facing pressure to stabilize the Liberian dollar, manage a high wage bill, and finance the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development.
His return is seen by supporters as a boost of technocratic credibility to the Boakai administration, while critics have questioned whether leaving a secure international job was sustainable.