Machar official urges Olony to stop ‘intimidating’ SPLM-IO chairman  

JUBA –  A member of National Liberation Council (NLC) of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition ((SPM-IO) is urging General Johnson Olony Thabo to stop what he said “amounts to intimidation” against the country’s First Vice President and SPLM-IO Chairman Dr. Riek Machar Teny after the opposition commander rejected the appointment of another person as governor of Upper Nile state.

On Friday night, President Salva Kiir Mayardit in a surprise Republican Decree appointed Budhok Ayang Kur as governor of Upper Nile state after a last minute eventual change of mind by Machar to compromise General Johnson Olony Thabo who he had nominated since June 24, 2020 for governorship of the oil–rich state, but has been resisted by President Kiir.

Sudans Post has learned that the newly appointed governor was nominated during an extraordinary meeting of the SPLM-IO National Liberation Council in Juba on Thursday in which several members compelled Machar to replace Olony citing continued suffering of the people of Upper Nile state without a functioning state government or governor.

Earlier today, General Johnson Olony told Sudans Post in an exclusive interview that he won’t accept the newly appointed governor saying a meeting of the SPLA-IO military command would decide what comes next.

Speaking to Sudans Post separately on Friday night, Dut Majokdit, a member of the SPLM-IO National Liberation Council (NLC) said the changes were crucial for success of the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement saying Machar had appealed to Olony several times to return to Juba to enable for his appointment but the later couldn’t return.

“General Johnson Olony has been told by the chairman to return to Juba several times. For reasons best known to him, he couldn’t return but the peace implementation cannot wait. Our people in Upper Nile state deserves security, services and compromise,” Majokdit said from Juba.

The senior opposition official said statements attributed to General Johnson Olony amounts to intimidation of the First Vice President urging general Johnson Olony to respect the leadership of the movement as it is an obligation under the SPLM-IO code of conduct.

“These statements being released by General Olony means intimidation and these are against the SPLM-IO code of conduct. We must respect the political leadership of the movement and nobody can be nominated by force or by intimidating,” Majokdit said.

“When General Johnson Olony was nominated, no body intimidated Dr. Riek Machar, but because the leadership believes he was capable of leading our people in Upper Nile state, he was nominated unconditionally. Now, because of reasons out of out limit, he shouldn’t employ those tactics of intimidating the chairman to get him stay there as nominee in an environment that does not have compromise while our people suffer,” he added.