July 6, 2020 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan’s main armed opposition group, SPLM-IO, is demanding answers to why its nominee for Upper Nile state, General Johnson Olony, is not appointed as nominated last week.
This comes as President Salva Kiir Mayardit rejected the appointment of Olony as governor of Upper Nile state saying the opposition general is not accepted by the Apadang community of Upper Nile state expressing fears that his appointment will jeopardize peace process and reconciliation in the oil-rich area.
In a statement to the media, James Gatdet Dak, the spokesman for First Vice President Machar said the SPLM-IO was still not aware of why Olony was not appointed as nominated by his group.
He said Kiir and Machar would meet in the near future to discuss the issue.
“Unfortunately, Johnson Olony for Upper Nile state was not appointed. We do not know why he was not appointed,” Gatdet said.
“I hope His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit and His Excellency, the First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar; will soon resolve the matter as leaders of major parties.
“We submitted names of our three nominees for the gubernatorial positions for the states of Upper Nile, Western Equatoria, and Western Bahr el Ghazal. We did it since 24 June 2020.”
