Monrovia – The University of Liberia has moved to stabilize its financial administration following the resignation of Dr. Lester Tenny as Vice President for Finance and Fiscal Affairs, appointing University Comptroller Togar M. Gibson to temporarily take over the position.
The appointment was announced Sunday, August 22, 2026, by UL President Layli Maparyan, Ph.D., in a memorandum circulated to the University’s Cabinet, Internal Audit Department and President’s Office staff.
Maparyan said she received Tenny’s resignation letter by email on Saturday and immediately took steps to ensure that the University’s financial affairs would continue without interruption.
“In response to this departure, I have appointed Mr. Togar M. Gibson as Acting Vice President for Finance and Fiscal Affairs,” the UL President stated in the memorandum.
Gibson will serve in the acting position while retaining his existing responsibilities as Comptroller of the University’s Business and Finance Office.
The arrangement is expected to remain in place until the UL Board of Trustees is consulted on the way forward.
The development follows Tenny’s disclosure that he had formally resigned from the University’s senior financial position after a period he characterized as an unhealthy working environment.
Tenny also disclosed details of a meeting he had with President Joseph Nyuma Boakai last Wednesday, saying the President offered him advice about how to navigate the circumstances surrounding his position.
According to Tenny, President Boakai told him he did not want to create a situation in which people holding public positions could be removed simply because others were angry with them.
“He does not want to set a precedent where people will be removed because other people are angry,” Tenny recalled.
Tenny said the President also recognized the difficulty of serving as a young official in an environment where carrying out one’s responsibilities could generate opposition.
He quoted Boakai as telling him: “You being a young man, in an environment where almost everybody hates you for doing your job, you need to use wisdom.”
Tenny said the President’s long experience in public service allowed him to view the situation from different perspectives.
“The thing about President Boakai is perhaps his long years of public service puts him in a position where he see things from three dimensions,” Tenny said.
He further recalled the President telling him: “If I were you, I would not resign.”
But, according to Tenny, the President also cautioned that circumstances in Liberia’s working environment sometimes require individuals to exercise discretion.
“But we are in Africa, and in an unhealthy working environment, use wisdom,” Tenny quoted Boakai as saying.
Tenny said he ultimately took “use wisdom” as the central message from the conversation.
“And that is the key word I took from the President: ‘Use wisdom,’” he said.
Despite that advice, Tenny proceeded with his resignation, leaving the University to appoint an acting head of its financial affairs.
Maparyan said all financial-related communications and concerns should now be directed to Gibson, effective immediately.
The appointment gives Gibson responsibility for overseeing the University’s financial affairs while he continues his work as Comptroller, creating a temporary dual-role arrangement until the Board of Trustees determines the next course of action.
The University President thanked Gibson for his willingness to assume the additional responsibility during the transition.
Tenny’s resignation comes at a sensitive time for the University of Liberia, where financial management remains central to the institution’s daily operations, including budgeting, expenditure oversight, accounting and other fiscal responsibilities.
Although the circumstances surrounding Tenny’s resignation have drawn attention, neither his remarks nor the University’s memorandum provides specific details of particular disputes or allegations involving individual university officials.
The immediate priority for the administration is therefore continuity.
With Gibson now serving as Acting Vice President for Finance and Fiscal Affairs, the University has established an interim arrangement intended to keep financial operations functioning while the Board of Trustees is consulted on a permanent solution.
The resignation and subsequent appointment have effectively opened a new chapter in the University’s financial administration, with attention now likely to focus on the Board of Trustees’ decision and the broader institutional issues surrounding the departure of Tenny.
