SPLM-IO Taban denies abuse of power in Ruweng State
March 25, 2017 (JUBA) – The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) under the leadership of the First Vice President, Taban Deng Gai has accepted the resignation of Ruweng governor abut denied accusations charging him of power misuse.
On Friday, Governor Theji Da Adwad Deng resigned from the SPLM-IO faction and accused Gai of occupying a piece of Ruweng land known as Wath Daluel and renamed it Manga since 2005. Also, he accused the first vice-president of abusing his powers by trying to annexe the land to his home state.
In a statement issued on March 24, 2017, in response to these claims, the SPLM-IO led by Taban Gai denied the accusations in Deng resignation letter that the first Vice President used his position to annexe a piece of land from Ruweng saying they are “unfounded”.
It denied the existence of a dispute over land ownership in the area claimed to have been annexed by the first vice president, saying disputes like these can be addressed through the correct channels if they existed.
“This is absolutely incorrect. There is no such dispute that exists, and if any, there are right channels to address such disputes,” the letter added.
The letter carrying the signature of the Secretary General Dhieu Mathok also denied that the first vice president was working against the national policies.
“Secondly, he accused the First Vice President of working against the policies of national security in Ruweng State; again, these are baseless and dangerous accusations. We would challenge him to provide any evidence as to how the most powerful man in the country could work to undermine his own country’s security,” Mathok said.
He further claimed that the disagreements were over the manner in which Governor Theji allegedly attempted to undermine national policies, citing the delay in opening borders between Sudan and South Sudan.
“The reason for his disagreement with the leadership of the party was that Governor Theji undermined national policies regarding bilateral cooperation between South Sudan and Sudan, which resulted in the delay of opening borders between the two countries for humanitarian intervention in former unity state, a matter of serious national priority for the government,” the statement argued.
(ST)