Rizik Zachariah Hassan, governor of the proposed Lol State, has returned to Raja after spending more than one month in Juba.
Rizik went to Juba from early April and remained there until Saturday when he returned.
Deputy Governor Sumeiyo Adut confirmed the return of her boss and described the visit to Juba as successful and downplayed speculations that the governor was initially blocked from meeting president Kiir.
Adut said in an interview on Monday that the governor had delayed his return because he was following up “many issues” related to the state with various departments and institutions in the country.
“The governor could not return quickly to the state because he was following up many issues with different institutions, departments and other groups in Juba. You know we are a new state and this means we must reach out to various groups to extend helping hands in all the fields,” said Adut.
“So the governor was there for this purpose. He was not blocked by anybody. He met the president and discussed with him all administrative matters and also shared with him the plan of his government,” she explained.
Adut was reacting to speculations that supporters of Paul Malong Awan, chief of general of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the official army of South Sudan, were involved in political machinations aimed at denying Governor Rizik an audience with the president to share him his plans.
Some claimed that Rizik was taking to the president a list of new members of parliament to replace those whose communities in April petitioned for their removal after withdrawing confidence in them.