A member of state parliament who was removed by the governor of Tonj State has protested against the decision, describing it as unconstitutional.
Andrea Aguer Ariik was accused by the governor of criticizing President Kiir through social media, which he has denied. He was unseated on 31 March.
The lawmaker, who was appointed as parliamentarian on SPLM ticket, told Radio Tamazuj on Thursday that he will remain as the legitimate MP and that he will still represent the people of the state.
“I want to tell the citizens that the order issued by the governor was intended to intimidate the assembly and to intimidate any member of parliament so that members don’t talk of his mistakes. Up to now, I am still officially Member of Parliament and I am still representing the people,” he said.
For his part, Governor Akec Tong Aleu claimed Andrea turned down several efforts to convince him to apologize to the president. The state official pointed out that the SPLM leadership in the state decided to withdraw confidence from Andrea and appoint a new party member to the state parliament.
“He behaves in a way that is not appropriate. He writes on social media against the president. He wrote that the president is not protecting all citizens, saying the president cares much about himself,” said Akec.