Dr. Barnaba Marial, presidential affairs minister | File photo

The first vice president has urged the newly appointed presidential affairs minister to fix mistakes he said have led to the firing of his predecessors.

Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin was on Monday sworn in at the state house, J1, along with chief of the defense forces, the director of External Bureau at the National Security Service, among others.

Dr. Marial replaced Nhial Deng Nhial who succeeded Mayiik Ayii after the latter was removed in a presidential decree over corruption allegations regarding the Juba-Rumbek highway.

The reason behind Nhial’s dismissal has not been made public.

Marial is the third official to be appointed into the office of the president in less than 14 months.

“My advice is if you are not grounded in the two books – the constitution and peace agreement. Please go through them because the mistakes committed are as a result of not looking into these two books,” Dr. Riek Machar told Dr. Marial.

For his part, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Dr Elia Lomuro also cautioned Dr. Marial against disappointing the President.

“All of us need to work for the president, not with the president. There is only one president, and if he is not happy he is going to make changes,” he stated.

In response, Dr. Marial Marial pledged to consult widely within the presidency to ensure there is synergy within the government.

The Minister of Presidential Affairs is responsible for coordinating the matters of institutional relevance; preparing, carrying out and tracking the legislative program; supporting the Presidency, Cabinet, among others.