Western Bahr al Ghazal State Governor Rizig Zachariah Hassan says he has reservations on the latest Establishment Order issued by President Kiir dividing South Sudan into 28 states, saying the presidential decree was issued without consultations.
In a briefing to his cabinet after returning from Juba last week, Rizig said he asked the President to review the decision.
The official further said he accepted the decision, but he had reservations and that he received complaints about some newly established states.
“The reservation is that Raja was part of Wau and Jur River [Western Bahr al Ghazal State] and now it has come out and merged with other new counties of Aweil West and Aweil North. So I told him that this needs to be reviewed,” he said.
The official said they requested the president to review the decision by presenting it to the cabinet and national legislature for deliberation in order to reconsider the complaints from some areas on the new states.
He pointed out that he proposed to the president to establish Raja State to be separate from Lol State as demanded by local residents.
“The president said you are right, some of the advisers were the ones who put it that way, but I agree with you,” he claimed.
On 7 October, tribal chiefs in Raja County met and decided to reject the Establishment Order issued by President Salva Kiir annexing their county to Aweil West and Aweil North counties to become Lol State.