A politician from Tonj State has turned down Governor Akect Tong’s decree appointing him as adviser on humanitarian affairs representing the SPLM-IO faction allied to Taban Deng in the state as part of peace implementation.
The 2015 peace agreement allocates 15% of representation in each of the states in the Equatoria and Bahr al Ghazal regions to SPLM-IO.
Maluak Akot Majuol said in a statement on Friday that he is not a member of the armed opposition group allied to Taban Deng Gai.
“The ticket that was used to bring me as advisor for humanitarian affairs is wrong. The appointment was a surprise, it was surprise. I did not know that, I was not aware and I was not consulted,” he said.
For his part, the Governor of Tonj State, Akec Tong Aleu, said he was acting based on directives given by the SPLM-IO leader Taban Deng Gai.
“I received a letter officially from Gen. Taban Deng Gai that we should appoint three people from SPLM-IO so as to complete the clauses that they agreed upon in Addis Ababa,” he said.
Akec called on Gai’s group to identify another person to replace Maluak who declined to assume the position.
Last week, Governor Akec Tong named Mabil Ater as minister of social development and Malual Akot Majuol as advisor on humanitarian affairs to represent the SPLA-IO faction in the state.