Snakes seen emerging from the walls of the Liberian foreign affairs building have forced President George Weah to work from home.

Key points: The black snakes were seen emerging from the reception of Mr Weah's office building

The black snakes were seen emerging from the reception of Mr Weah's office building He is working from home until the infestation is dealt with

He is working from home until the infestation is dealt with Liberia is home to poisonous snakes

The black snakes were captured on video emerging from a hole in a wall of the building's reception area.

The West African nation is home to poisonous snakes and officials are not taking chances.

Deputy press secretary Smith Toby said Mr Weah, a former international football star, was told to stay away until the building could be fumigated.

He was expected back in the office on Monday (local time).

Mr Toby said the fumigation had begun to take care of "crawling and creeping things."

A video from news website FrontPage Africa showed workers attempting to deal with the snakes.

Liberian President George Weah is working from home while the snakes are dealt with. ( Reuters: )

According to the BBC, the office of the President has been based at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the country's presidential mansion was gutted in a fire 13 years ago.

"That building's been there for years now, and [because of] the drainage system, the possibility of having things like snakes crawling in that building was high," Mr Toby told the BBC.

The incident is not the first time a pest infestation has forced an African leader out of his office.

In 2017, the BBC reported Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was forced to spend months working from home after his office was damaged by a rat infestation while he was out of the country.

George Weah is the only African footballer to win the FIFA player of the year award. ( Reuters )

Mr Weah, who rose to international prominence while playing football in France and Italy, was named FIFA's player of the year in 1995 while playing for AC Milan.

He is the only African footballer to win the title.

He assumed the presidency in January 2018 after the country's then-vice president Joseph Boakai conceded defeat.

ABC/wires