Opposition group calls resignation of MP Mabior Lual ‘premature’

JUBA – The South Sudan Patriotic Movement/Army (SSPM) has issued a statement expressing disappointment and regret over the unexpected resignation of Mabior Riiny Lual from his position as a member of parliament.

The SSPM has characterized Lual’s departure as “premature” and has indicated that they will be closely examining the reasons behind his decision. Lual is a prominent lawmaker in the TNLA, representing the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), of which the SSPM is a key member.

Lual, who was a commissioner of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), announced his decision to resign on Facebook on Sunday.

In his statement, he sharply criticized government leaders for misusing public funds to seek expensive medical treatment abroad, while millions of South Sudanese citizens continue to struggle with poverty, hunger, and preventable diseases.

“We cannot continue to call ourselves leaders when the very people we serve are dying and leaders are illegitimately getting rich at their expense,” he wrote in the statement addressed to Vice-President Hussein Abdelbagi.

“People are dying from preventable diseases when men and women entrusted with service delivery fly out to get treatment for malaria and other diseases that can be treated in Juba taking with them millions of US dollars as allowances,” he added.

In response to Lual’s resignation, SSPM spokesman Stephen Lual Ngor expressed disappointment and regret. While acknowledging Lual’s departure, Ngor emphasized that the lawmaker had stepped down prematurely from his parliamentary role.

“The SSPM is studying your resignation and shall reply to you as soon as possible on known internal official channels of communication of the movement. However, the SSPM regrets that you resigned prematurely when your country needed you the most,” Ngor said in a statement to Sudans Post.

In his resignation letter, Lual accused the government of neglecting the fundamental needs of the South Sudanese people, particularly in the areas of healthcare and education. He expressed deep frustration over the government’s inability to provide adequate services to its citizens.

“We have a country where about 70% of the population is illiterate and there is a chronic lack of quality schools and hospitals. People are dying from hunger and preventable diseases,” Lual wrote.

He further condemned the South Sudanese government, labeling its leaders as ‘misleaders’ who have failed to deliver on their promises to improve the lives of the citizens of the world’s youngest nation.

“I came to realize that we are misleaders, and South Sudanese are unlucky to be led by political conmen. I had sincerely believed that opposition was going to change the political trajectory of our country… This has turned out not to be the case.”

Lual’s resignation highlights the growing discontent within South Sudan’s political sphere. People are becoming increasingly frustrated with the government’s performance, which could lead to divisions within the ruling party.