USAP Secretary General turns down his appointment as party chief

By Simon Deng

The Secretary General of the opposition United Sudan African Party (USAP), Joseph Ojukwu, has turned down his recent appointment to lead the party following the dismissal of Joseph Malek who was the Acting chairperson of the party.

“As the founding member of USAP party in 1987, I have been and I am still fighting for unity of the party. I will not be happy to see the party destroyed by power hungry individuals,” said Ojukwu in a statement on Thursday.

The development comes in the aftermath of party members dismissing Malek on Tuesday, whom they accused of failing to organize internal elections, sowing disunity and weak leadership.

USAP is a member of the coalition known as National Agenda, which brings together several opposition parties aligned to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) led by President Salva Kiir.

 “While I agree that seven years has exceeded the four years tenure of office of the chairperson, I disagree with the unconstitutional manner in which the decision to relive him was taken,” said Ojukwu.

John Deng Obany, the former chairperson for the USAP, said the regional leadership council has taken the right decision to dismiss the acting leadership of USAP.

“Joseph Malek has taken a lot of time in office, I agree with them (party members) because no official should be serving in acting capacity for more than 7 years,” said Obany.

On Tuesday, the regional leadership council of United Sudan African Party dismissed Joseph Malek, the Acting chairperson and his deputy John Deng Obany, and assigned Joseph Ojukwu to lead the party and organize elections for new party leadership.