{"id":27159,"date":"2026-01-12T10:22:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T09:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=27159"},"modified":"2026-01-12T15:03:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T14:03:43","slug":"false-the-japan-freeway-project-was-not-dedicated-by-former-president-ellen-johnson-sirleaf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/false-the-japan-freeway-project-was-not-dedicated-by-former-president-ellen-johnson-sirleaf\/","title":{"rendered":"False! The Japan Freeway project was not dedicated by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Claim: <\/strong>Assistant Minister for Labour and Manpower Development at the Ministry of Labour, <a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/emmanuel.k.barnes.i\/followers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Emmanuel K. Barnes-i<\/a>, has claimed that the Japan Freeway Project, formerly Somalia Drive, was dedicated by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"132\" height=\"55\" data-attachment-id=\"23928\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/misleading-olive-b-academy-not-first-all-girls-boarding-school-in-sierra-leone\/false-4-2-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FALSE-4-2.png?fit=132%2C55&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"132,55\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"FALSE-4-2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FALSE-4-2.png?fit=132%2C55&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/FALSE-4-2.png?resize=132%2C55\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23928\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-vivid-red-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-08ab4bc26a22f0c3df63ffe788ecbe23 wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Verdict: <\/strong>False! Reports from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weah.emansion.gov.lr\/media\/press-releases\/president-weah-dedicates-phase-i-somalia-drive-road-breaks-ground-phase-two\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Executive Mansion<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gh.emb-japan.go.jp\/jointad\/lr\/itpr_en\/00_000145.html#:~:text=Official%20Dedication%20of%20Phase%20I,Government%20and%20people%20of%20Japan.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Japanese Embassy<\/a> reveal that Phase One of the project was dedicated by former President George Manneh Weah on May 30, 2018.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Full Text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Assistant Minister for Labour and Manpower Development at the Ministry of Labour, Emmanuel K. Barnes-i, has <a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/okaycommunication\/videos\/1939885173596076\/?__cft__[0]=AZZiz-__2Xr09sS7o9UxdVJ2vDV6Sswwys8xWTmlxfrF2vCTHfO15rcBuG33MPgw9BhIDmMar1Vs7jrksAd1YbipHZVeIjvf6e5Z3fIT4ZRrpfKKZTawl1-ULU0pTLJVJotRCerFDY36669Z8b7-wmURmiGqPgQw821VHI6wXilNsqgcDNxoM8H8CpxLQg7CFIFHJtCL7NkjKVqcXBNDxvZ6&amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alleged<\/a> that the Japan Freeway Project, formerly Somalia Drive, was dedicated by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;Barnes-I made the claim during a live radio appearance on <a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/okaycommunication\/videos\/1939885173596076\/?__cft__[0]=AZZiz-__2Xr09sS7o9UxdVJ2vDV6Sswwys8xWTmlxfrF2vCTHfO15rcBuG33MPgw9BhIDmMar1Vs7jrksAd1YbipHZVeIjvf6e5Z3fIT4ZRrpfKKZTawl1-ULU0pTLJVJotRCerFDY36669Z8b7-wmURmiGqPgQw821VHI6wXilNsqgcDNxoM8H8CpxLQg7CFIFHJtCL7NkjKVqcXBNDxvZ6&amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OK FM<\/a>, Tuesday, January 6, 2026.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He made the claim 2 hours and 27 minutes into the show, in response to a statement by another guest, Wanto Teah Wanto, who asserted that the Japan Freeway Project was dedicated by former President Weah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The show generated 1.3k comments, 561 likes, and 124 shares as of January 7, 2026. DUBAWA decided to conduct a fact-check on the claim as part of its efforts to promote truth-telling in public discourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Verification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our researcher visited the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weah.emansion.gov.lr\/media\/press-releases\/president-weah-dedicates-phase-i-somalia-drive-road-breaks-ground-phase-two\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Executive Mansion website<\/a> and accessed the official publication regarding the dedication of Phase One of the Japan Freeway Project. According to the Executive Mansion, the project was dedicated by former President George Weah on May 30, 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gh.emb-japan.go.jp\/jointad\/lr\/itpr_en\/00_000145.html#:~:text=Official%20Dedication%20of%20Phase%20I,Government%20and%\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">official website<\/a> of the Japanese Embassy in Ghana accredited to Liberia shows that the project was dedicated by former President Weah on May 30, 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Based on reports from the Executive Mansion and the Japanese Embassy in Ghana accredited to Liberia<strong>,<\/strong> the claim made by Assistant Minister<strong> <\/strong>Emmanuel K. Barnes-i is false.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Claim: Assistant Minister for Labour and Manpower Development at the Ministry of Labour, Emmanuel K. Barnes-i, has claimed that the Japan Freeway Project, formerly Somalia Drive, was dedicated by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Verdict: False! Reports from the Executive Mansion and the Japanese Embassy reveal that Phase One of the project was dedicated by former President George Manneh Weah on May 30, 2018.&nbsp; Full Text Assistant Minister for Labour and Manpower Development at the Ministry of Labour, Emmanuel K. Barnes-i, has alleged that the Japan Freeway Project, formerly Somalia Drive, was dedicated by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. &nbsp;Barnes-I made the claim during a live radio appearance on OK FM, Tuesday, January 6, 2026.&nbsp; He made the claim 2 hours and 27 minutes into the show, in response to a statement by another guest, Wanto Teah Wanto, who asserted that the Japan Freeway Project was dedicated by former President Weah. The show generated 1.3k comments, 561 likes, and 124 shares as of January 7, 2026. DUBAWA decided to conduct a fact-check on the claim as part of its efforts to promote truth-telling in public discourse. Verification Our researcher visited the Executive Mansion website and accessed the official publication regarding the dedication of Phase One of the Japan Freeway Project. According to the Executive Mansion, the project was dedicated by former President George Weah on May 30, 2018. Additionally, the official website of the Japanese Embassy in Ghana accredited to Liberia shows that the project was dedicated by former President Weah on May 30, 2018. Conclusion Based on reports from the Executive Mansion and the Japanese Embassy in Ghana accredited to Liberia, the claim made by Assistant Minister Emmanuel K. Barnes-i is false.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"hannibal_claim_source":"","hannibal_source_label":"","hannibal_card_color":"blue","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[1960,3815,123],"tags":[],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[4091],"class_list":["post-27159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-liberia","category-homepage","category-mainstream"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-743","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":4091,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"lee-monjue","display_name":"Lee Monjue","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-12-at-9.38.49-AM.png?fit=545%2C421&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27159"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27231,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27159\/revisions\/27231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27159"},{"taxonomy":"verdict","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/verdict?post=27159"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=27159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}