I’m the bonafide OPP leader, Mayen tells critics

‘‘I am the bonafide leader of Other Opposition Parties (OPP).’’ That is that declaration by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Peter Mayen Majongdit, as he told off some of his colleagues denouncing his leadership in the OPP.

Five signatories to the OPP took to the media to disown Mr Mayen as the leader of the coalition parties, accusing him of ‘‘unilateral selection of members of parliament where the majority [of the nominees] were not members of the OPP’’.

The group unanimously agreed to vote against the previous OPP nominated MPs and resolved that new names should be submitted to President Salva Kiir for an appointment.

The meeting was also attended by Presidential Security Advisor Tut Gatluak Manime.

Addressing the media on Wednesday, Mayen referred to his opponents as opportunists whose acts violated the peace agreement by denouncing him as the leader of the group.

“We reject such statement for several reasons. One of the reasons is that it violates the declaration of principle we signed in Khartoum in 2017 that no party should interfere with another party.”

“I am the principal leader of the OPP [and therefore] individuals who are seeking their interest should not get classified into national interest,” said Mr Mayen.

In May, a section of OPP membership accused the minister of nepotism, claiming he favoured family members and friends in the nomination.

What began as a small disagreement in OPP seems to have escalated into a full-blown disagreement, where OPP Spokesperson Albino Akol Atak accused the minister of being an imposter party leader. Akol said in an interview with Radio Miraya that the minister had been duped by the public to believe that he was heading the political outfit.