MP Abdullah Ali Masar, leader of a faction of the Umma Party and head of the parliament’s agriculture committee has criticized the General Secretariat of the National Dialogue conference for causing confusion in the opening session.

As quoted by press in Khartuom, Abdullah Ali said he does not hold grudges against President Omar Al-Bashir for not giving him a chance to talk before the meeting was closed, after the president reportedly said, “Abdullah, I've got one list, so I will not change it because of you or because of anybody else, this is clear?”

The parliamentarian instead blamed the secretariat of failing to carry out the responsibility, saying it caused disorganization and “chaos” at the opening session. The Umma party leader said members of the secretariat are not qualified to facilitate the dialogue. “They have failed to prepare the list of the speakers, so how will you manage the dialogue sessions across Sudan?” he asked.

He claimed that the secretariat had distributed two different lists with different names of speakers, one given to the president, and a different one was given to participants. “The president thought that I wanted an extra chance, while it was my chance according to the program,” he said.