Snakes chase president out of office

Liberian President George Weah has abandoned his office for two black snakes that slithered in on Wednesday.

He won’t come back until April 22.

Press secretary Smith Toby said that two black snakes were found in the foreign affairs ministry building where the president has his office. All his staff have been told to stay away, too.

“It’s just to make sure that crawling and creeping things get fumigated from the building. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosts the office of the president, so it did an internal memo asking the staff to stay home while they do the fumigation”, Mr Toby said.

“There was a little hole somewhere through which they made their way back.”

However, Police and presidential securities were seen guarding Mr Weah’s residence in the capital Monrovia.

According to Toby, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has started to fumigate the area.

“That building has been there for years now, and because of the drainage system, the possibility of having things like snakes crawling in that building was high”.

The president is definitely returning to his office on Monday after the fumigation, whether or not the snakes are found and killed, Mr Toby said.

The presidential mansion of Liberia was destroyed by fire years ago, forcing the country’s No 1 man to share office with the ministry.

Rodents were said to have invaded the office of Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari too in 2017 when he came back from sick leave.