Ex-Central Equatoria governor Emmanuel Adil is victim of witch hunt – aide

JUBA – A former press secretary in the office of the ex-governor for Central Equatoria state has defended his boss against allegations of failing to remit funds to banks, calling it a political witch hunt.

Mr. Derick Derickson, the ex-press secretary of Adil, refuted Mr. Waakhe Wudu’s criticism of his boss’s administration for not remitting funds, which allegedly led to dysfunctional institutions.

The controversy arose when the press secretary in the office of General Augustino Jadalla claimed that Adil’s administration rarely facilitated cash transfers through banks and that revenue-generating agencies failed to remit funds.

“The governor found that revenue-generating institutions were making unauthorized expenditures on state activities,” Wudu stated.

“He immediately banned this practice and directed that all spending be managed by the State Ministry of Finance and Planning,” he added.

Jadalla subsequently established three ad hoc committees to examine the state’s records, approved budgets, revenue collections, and investments.

These committees included one to assess the disposal of government assets and another focused on administrative policies and human resources.

In response, Derick Derickson dismissed the allegations as “baseless,” “untrue,” and a mockery of political propaganda aimed at tarnishing Adil’s reputation.

“The so-called 100 Jadalla report presented by his press secretary was a kidology, inaccurate, and misleading report. In other words, I can describe it as a witch hunt,” said Derick.

“The report alleged that the former leadership of Emmanuel Adil was not remitting state resources to the designated government account. This is a wild allegation,” he added.

Derick argued that the Ministry of Finance could provide proof to refute the claim that the state was operating without remitting funds.

“The Ministry of Finance, which was then under the leadership of Emmanuel, can provide proof to what they alleged to be running the state through non-remittance into designated accounts,” he said.

Derick claimed that Jadalla’s leadership had shown political witch hunt against Adil from the beginning.

“Why all this witch hunt against the outstanding leadership of the governor [Adil]? We need a very decisive leadership in CES that can deliver to the aspirations of the people of Central Equatoria state,” he said.

He suggested that Jadalla’s administration should focus on delivering services rather than targeting Adil’s administration.

“The decisive leadership that is so concerning must use their energy to deliver services to the people of Central Equatoria state rather than engaging in political seeking propaganda that is meant to advance their agenda,” he said.

Mr. Derick questioned how the sacking of officials could be considered an achievement, calling it a “mockery.”

He described the report as “words” without proper goals in delivering services to the people of the state.