Amuru LC5 Chairman calls for unity amidst APG leadership scrabble
The section of MPs who claimed that they were elected in the purported election are saying they are not willing to participate in any new election.
Gulu: The Amuru district LC5 chairperson, Michael Lakang, has appealed to the members of parliament from the Acholi subregion to refrain from intrigue but to focus on addressing the challenges affecting the Acholi.
The call comes at a time when legislators are currently scrabbling for the leadership position of the Acholi Parliamentary Group (APG).
In an exclusive interview with this publication on Sunday, Lakang said that the legislators should unite and focus on addressing the challenges affecting Acholi.
The district chairperson stated that the people of Apaa are being killed by heartless assailants, but the legislators are busy scrabbling for power instead of addressing the challenges people are facing.
‘’These are some of the challenges our MPs are supposed to raise before the floor of parliament, but they have deviated and coughed up in bickering and fighting over APG leadership instead of coming together with a common position in parliament.’’
The recent attack in Apaa claimed dozens of lives of innocent residents; however, the incident was not procedurally taken to parliament.
Lakang alleges that some individual MPs had resorted to sending their sole statement to the media, something he observed that such practices cannot quake the government.
On February 13, 2024, a row erupted among the leadership of the APG when Okot John Amos, the Agago North County legislator, ousted Anthony Akol, the Kilak North MP, from the chairmanship of the APG in a purported election.
According to Hon. Okot, he was elected chairperson of the APG through consensus. However, Anthony Akol has never accepted defeat, saying that the purported election was unprocedural and bridges the constitution of the APG.
Hon. Joys Acan Okeny, the electoral commission for APG, had earlier announced February 22nd, 2024, as the date for the election of new APG leadership since the terms of office of those who were in office had expired in December 2023. But the scheduled election did not happen.
Akol revealed on Saturday that the new date for the election of the new APG is scheduled for March 7th, 2024; however, acclaimed dates have not been confirmed by their electoral commission.
The section of MPs who claimed that they were elected in the purported election are saying they are not willing to participate in any new election.
Appearing at one of the local radio stations in Gulu city over the weekend, Okot asked the people of Acholi to give him only six months to exhibit his capability of being the new chairperson of APG. However, his request attracted boos from Akol, who warned him to stop masquerading as chairperson of APG.
Zerubbabel Abuka, one of the elders in Acholi, worries that the tension between political and cultural leaders in Acholi is being fuelled by invisible hands, something he says needs to be investigated and addressed before it is overdue.
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