Johnson N. Gwaikolo was born on July 25, 1955, in Zekepa in the Central Province (now Nimba County).
[3][4] During the First Liberian Civil War, Gwaikolo served on the interim Legislative Assembly from 1991 to 1992.
[2] In the 2011 election, Gwaikolo unsuccessfully ran for the House of Representatives of Liberia with the Unity Party (UP).
[2] He began serving as interim president of the university in September 2015, replacing Emmanuel Bailey.
[8] Initially, Gwaikolo was appointed chairman of the Committee on Education and Public Administration.
The Independent Probe Newspaper reported that the UP passed on Gwaikolo as deputy speaker due to alleged ties with Senator Prince Johnson, former warlord and an ally of the opposing major party, the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).
[9] He endorsed CDC nominee, the incumbent George Weah for president in the 2023 election.
[14] He was among several leading CDC members of the House voted out in the 2023 election, including Speaker Bhofal Chambers.