Members of the House of Representatives have initialed discussions aimed at legally abolishing presidential birthdays as national holidays and creating a single holiday to honor and appreciate former Liberian presidents.

During Thursday’s plenary debate at the Capitol Building, legislators suggested that it would be prudent to set aside the last Monday in October each year as Presidents Day.

Rep. George Wesseh Blamoh (Grand Kru), who presented the idea in a proposed bill to plenary, argued that instead of celebrating the birthdays of two past presidents—JJ Roberts and Tubman—the House should enact his Bill into law to set aside Presidents Day to appreciate all past presidents.

House Plenary voted to have the proposed bill scrutinized by several of its committees during three weeks before the Lower House decides whether to endorse or shelf the draft Bill.

Liberia celebrates the birthdays of  its first president Joseph Jenkins Roberts (March 15) and 18th president William VS Tubman (November 29) annually as holidays as decided by the legislature while ignoring many others that held the high office since our independence was declared on 26 July 1847.

“Celebrating presidential birthdays as national holidays should therefore be abolished. To give honor and respect to all Liberian presidents, living or dead, the legislature should pass an act establishing a Presidents Day. By so doing, ordinary citizens must not be subjected to the abuse associated with celebrating an individual president’s birthday,” one commentator observed after learning about the debate: