Machar’s group says Kiir had accepted to appoint Olony, don’t know what then “transpired next”

South Sudan petroleum minister Puot Kang Chuol addressing journalists following a meeting of the Economic Crisis Management Committee (ECMC) in Juba on Tuesday [Photo by SSBC]

JUBA – South Sudan’s main armed opposition group, SPLM-IO, has confirmed that President Salva Kiir Mayardit had accepted to appoint General Johnson Olony Thabo as governor of the oil-rich Upper Nile state, but does not know what went wrong that he was not appointed.

Olony, a controversial opposition commander, was nominated for governor of Upper Nile state by Dr. Riek Machar, the SPLM-IO leader and First Vice President of South Sudan, on June 24, along with two other colleagues.

Kiir however refused to appoint Olony, saying he is a warmonger who he said would hamper reconciliation efforts among the people of Upper Nile state and who are already divided along ethnic lines.

Speaking to the press this afternoon, Puot Kang Chuol, the minister of petroleum and SPLM-IO youth league chairperson, said they had information that President Salva Kiir had accepted to appoint General Olony, but don’t know why what happened that he wasn’t appointed.

“Well we were previously informed that the president has accepted to appoint the governor of Upper Nile but I cannot be in a better position to tell you what transpired next, I don’t know,” the senior government official said.

He appealed to president Salva Kiir Mayardit to appoint Olony for successful implementation of the revitalized peace agreement so that the people of Upper Nile state are not left behind.

“We want to move forward, but Upper Nile is one of the states. You don’t have ten states without Upper Nile the same way you will not have ten states without any one of the states in the Republic of South Sudan,” he said.

“We there ask the general public and everybody that we speed up the appointment of General Olony so that they are not also left behind,” he added.

For his part, presidential press secretary, Ateny Wek Ateny, said in a statement quoted by the Eye Radio as saying that he is “not yet informed about whether Olony will be appointed or not.”

He added that “As soon as I am informed, I will let you know.”