Liberia leader acknowledges failure in anti-corruption fight

MONROVIA, Liberia – Liberia's president says her highly touted war on corruption has fallen short.

In her final state of the nation address Tuesday, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said corruption had been too firmly entrenched in Liberian society for her administration to eliminate it.

Sirleaf declared corruption to be "public enemy number one" when she took office in 2006 after winning the country's first election following more than a decade of conflict.

But the Nobel Peace Prize laureate has faced persistent allegations of nepotism related to the appointment of her sons to key government posts including chair of the national oil company.

Liberians will vote for a new leader in October, and Sirleaf has publicly backed her current vice president, Joseph Boakai. He will face stiff competition from soccer star George Weah.