Mark Nyipuoc, deputy speaker of South Sudan's National Legislative Assembly, has denied reports that he has protested the removal of General Elias Waya Nyipuoc from position as governor of Wau State by presidential order on Friday.

Multiple sources from Wau and in Juba said in a series of interviews on Saturday that Nyipuoc, a high ranking member of the faction of the governing Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) allied to President Salva Kiir, angrily reacted to the presidential decision to remove Elias from the post of governor and replaced him with Andrea Mayar.

The deputy speaker was said to have considered the move hurried and taken without consultations.

“Who told you this allegation? Who said I protested the relief of General Elias Waya? I think you need to check again your sources,” said Nyipuoc when reached to comment on the allegation on Sunday.

The deputy speaker also declined to comment on whether he welcomed the appointment of Andrea Mayar Achor as the new governor of the state, instead he called on outsiders to respect the internal affairs of the people of the state without interfering.

“I urge outside actors in the state to respect the choice of the people of Wau and their leadership and to end provocative rhetoric and take actions to support the constitutionally established transitional structures and use their influence in support of unity, peace and an inclusive path forward. There is nothing which people will gain from inciting violence. Violence produces violence,” he stressed.

Sources pointed to a blood relationship between Nyipuoc and Elias as a possible reason for his dissatisfaction with the decree.