In his resignation letter, former governor of the defunct opposition Phow State Maj. Gen. Johnson Kuol Gai, who is also a member of the Joint Transitional Security Committee (JTSC) representing SPLM-IO, claimed that there has been an unfair treatment of the people of Fangak county by the leadership of the SPLM-IO adding that the SPLM-IO has not made any significant assistant to the floods-affected people in their area.
“On behalf of the people of Fangak County and the military command of the area, I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of officers, NCOs and men, to declare our rejoining of the SPLM in government and disowning the SPLM/A (IO) under Riek Machar Teny. This decision was reached after wider consultations with the sectors of Fangak County Community on the grounds,” he said in the statement extended to Sudans Post.
“The traditional leadership, women youth intellectuals and the military command which have realized that the people of Fangak have suffered enough for the last eight years and has been worsened by the floods that have submerged the whole area making the people of Fangak more vulnerable and there, has never been any assistance or care from the SPLM-IO leadership for the last two years. There has been also unfair treatment to the community by the SPLM/A-IO leadership before the signing of the peace agreement and during the implementation process,” he claimed.
He said the reform agenda being spearheaded by the SPLM-IO has been addressed by the revitalized peace agreement signed in September 2018 by President Salva Kiir Mayardit with various opposition groups that include the SPLM-IO led by now-First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny and therefore no need to remain outside the SSPDF.
“The issue of reform that has been called for by the SPLM/A-IO has been addressed by the Revitalized Peace Agreement signed in 2018, and therefore, there is no need of pulling the ropes here and there for the implementation of the said agreement, this is a process that required collective efforts and collective responsibility. It cannot be an agenda to be champion by specific group of people; it should be a vision of the whole country to build institutions that will have capacity to deliver the needed services to the people,” he said.
“There are many reasons to mention about our disowning of the SPLM-IO under the leadership of Dr. Riek Machar, but for the sake Peace and Harmony, we don’t want to go further than the once we mentioned above,” he added.