Gogrial State Youth dismiss the petition and charges labeled against Governor Abraham Gum Makuac
7 min readPress Release: Gogrial State Youth dismiss the petition and charges labeled against the state Governor Hon. Abraham Gum Makuac as baseless and unfounded.
March 22, 2016 (SSB) —- In respond to the article published on Sudan tribune Website dated 15th March, 2016, we the youth of Gogrial State would like to categorically dismiss and condemn the malicious allegations labeled against our beloved governor by some self-proclaimed youth leaders who also claim to be backed by some disgruntled politicians. These allegations are baseless, unfound and mere propaganda fabricated by some disgruntled groups who have lost their seats in the state government.
First and foremost, no youth leaders have ever convened a meeting of any kind to petition the removal of the governor. ‘’The state youth leadership has never written any petition for the removal of the governor. We have never doubted the capability and competency of the state governor and therefore we have dismissed and condemn such baseless allegations fabricated to assassinate the character and integrity of our state governor,” Said by Clement Deng Yor Chairperson of the state Youth Union.
The allegations that these self-proclaimed youth leaders are backed by politicians, opinion leaders and elders of Gogrial state is a white lie and an assumption that will never hold. We don’t have a specific group called opinion leaders in Gogrial state. In addition, all our elders and prominent politicians both in the state and national levels are rallying behind our governor as they are now cooperating with him to develop Gogrial state. The only group who is opposed to the governor are those who missed the appointment in the state cabinet and that is due to the fact that they were not recommended by their communities. The likes of Hon. Ariech Mayar Ariech and Achol Cyer Ryan are the ones making noise on the streets. These two MPs were adoring the governor prior to the formation of the state cabinet and now they are against the governor because they have lost their seats.
Secondly; the governor has never uttered any threat of death against any member of parliament nor has he ordered the arrest of any youth leader. The only MP who always claim of being threaten of death is Hon. Ariech Mayar Ariech who has ill intention to falsely label such allegation against the governor and who is known of unnecessary opposition whenever he is out of the state cabinet. Moreover, the allegation posted by Ariech Mayar Ariech that the youth leader was arrested is untrue and therefore the little known Lual Ater Dut has never been a youth leader, he is a former private secretary of the former Minister of education in the defunct Warrap state. One cannot become a youth leader when he has committed a crime that is punishable by law. Lual Ater who claimed to be a youth leader under detention was arrested by police on charges of initiating a fight over a young girl. When he was outcompeted by another man who conned the girl, he resorted to violence in which seventeen people were wounded including himself and his mother Abuk Bak. Now Lual Ater Dut who is a fugitive cannot defeat the law by claiming that he was arrested by the governor.
Thirdly, the accusation that the governor is incapable of running state affairs is hopeless and really a surprise to the people of Gogrial State as to what mechanism this group has used to test the incapability of the governor within one month since he formed his cabinet. To our best knowledge as youth of Gogrial state, the governor has successfully formed his government and is currently running the state affairs to our maximum expectation. However, being left out of the cabinet does not amount to failure or incapability of the governor.
Fourthly, the allegations that the governor has appointed, to his cabinet, those who were not recommended by their communities and the SPLM is not true because the current state cabinet ministers, advisors and county commissioners were popularly recommended by their respective communities evidenced by the written recommendation letters available in the Governor’s office.This was done in accordance with the resolutions of Gogrial State elders meeting conducted in New Sudan Palace, Juba, on 11/01/2016 and other consultation meetings in Kuajok in which the governor was given a green light to appoint the people base on recommendation.
Fifthly, the allegations that the majority of the cabinet members and county commissioners appointed by the governor are from his clan and some are associates of business men who bribed the governor to give positions cannot stand. It is unfortunate to have learntof the group who looks into the formation of the government base on clans representation meanwhile the ideal criteria for the formation of the government at all levels in South Sudan is always based on geographical constituencies, gender and political parties’ representation. These ideal criteria were all met by our state governor when he formed his state cabinet.
We also condemn the barbaric attack on the personalities of our renowned businessmen such as Kiir Gai and Adim Adim who always render their voluntary supports to our people when needed. They are not doing it in return for the appointment of their associates as the group alleged, the generosity of these businessmen is manifested in their regular supports even to other states. The appointments of the deputy governor, minister of local government, minister of health and commissioner of Aguok South county are neither linked to Mr. Kiir Gai nor Adim Adim as alleged by the so called petition. The governor has never been bribed nor been paid a consideration of any kind in return for the appointment of anyone in the state.
This group has also tried to incite hatred by saying that the appointment of the deputy governor is against Hon. Tor Deng Mawien and Hon James Lual Deng meanwhile the above mentioned prominent politicians and elders have never had any grudges or conflicting interests with the deputy governor Hon. Akot Abiem. It is a well-known fact that Hon. Santino Akot Abiem was highly recommended not only by his own community but by the entire Gogrial State communities. We have strongly condemn the attack on his well-deserved integrity and we are ready to take legal measures against this group who have tarnished the image of our beloved deputy governor in the name of youth.
This group has also claimed to be backed by Jieng council of elders and we are also warning them for using the name of a high profile council for their political gains which is an abuse of the council’s peace loving nature. Jieng council of elders is made up of all Jieng elders across the country who cannot back a particular group against another in one state. This council’s activities only focus on the preservation and promotion of Jieng cultures and norms in ever states inhabited by Jieng people.
It is also a surprise to see that the group who are known of being undereducated are now the ones pointing fingers to the government officials particularly the speaker and the information minister as illiterates. In fact, the speaker was not appointed by the governor instead she underwent a free and fair parliamentary elections where she won by 57% of the total votes against her rival. The allegation that they are illiterates is a fabricated view of Hon. Ariech Mayar who is a primary school drop-out better his colleague Achol Cyier who dropped out in second year in Awiel Girls’ secondary school for unclear reasons.
The allegations made by Hon. Ariech Mayar, former Warrap information minister turned activist on facebook, that the Governor has been running the affairs of the state as his own business is a mere lie as the governor has been working in hands with the Parliament and other stakeholders in the state. It has become a habitual character of Mr. Ariech that when he is not appointed to a ministerial post the governor becomes too bad and incompetent. A capable and competent governor, according to him, is a governor who offers ministerial post to Ariech. It is worth mentioning that Hon. Ariech has been recently praising the Governor when he was making lobby for a position.
In conclusion, the governor of Gogrial state was chosen by the people of state in general and his appointment was based on his commitment he had shown when he was a deputy governor
We also urge those who dishonorably shun the opposition by supportingdisgruntled youth to cause chaos in the state to stop otherwise, we will reveal their names and they will be answerable. Lastly but the least, we would like to advice our fellow youth who chose this route of blind opposition to stop tarnishing the image of our good state in the name of Gogrial Youth just because they are pushed by some disgruntle politicians
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