Gen. Johnson Olony, the SPLM-IO nominee President Salva Kiir has refused to appoint governor of Upper Nile State | Credit | Courtesy

General Johnson Olony will arrive in Juba as soon as his appointment as governor is made public by the President, the SPLM-IO has said.

“Once the decree is out, Johnson Olony will arrive in Juba so that he can proceed with the process of being sworn-in,” the main revitalized peace party stated.

The Office of the President had initially said Olony should come to Juba for the appointment and subsequent swearing-in ceremony.

General Olony reportedly said he should be appointed while in his current location in Upper Nile state.

On Tuesday, an advance team of SPLM-IO from Upper Nile state, including those representing Johnson Olony arrived in Juba for the forthcoming peace conference.

The Presidency recently announced a general peace and reconciliation conference of all the natives of the state.

496 participants comprising of political and community leaders from the state are expected to attend the event in Juba.

It will be chaired by the First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar and with President Salva Kiir as the patron.

There has been a difference of opinion between the two principals over the appointment of General Olony as governor.

Olony is the commander of Agwelek forces that signed a military merger and incorporation into the SPLA-IO, under the leadership of Dr. Machar in June 2015.

But President Kiir believes Olony will be a controversial figure to the residents of Upper Nile as he still commands his own forces.

“[His appointment] is not an easy task [because] if it is somebody who will cause fighting or conflict, like in Upper Nile, I say ‘no’, because it will be on my neck later in the day,” Kiir ” is quoted telling clerics in a meeting last month.

Kiir’s office described Olony as an “active soldier who has not fully subjected himself to the political development in Juba, and is not “within territories that are controlled by SPLM-IO or by the government.”

Dr. Riek Machar’s office, however, dismissed the assertion, saying that Olony is “a general in the SPLA-IO -a recognized army.”

Machar’s party now hopes the arrival of Olony’s delegation to Juba and the forthcoming conference will enable his appointment as governor.

“It was declared that this conference is for reconciliation of the communities of Upper Nile before the appointment of Johnson Olony as the governor on SPLM-IO [ticket],” said Puok Bok, SPLM-IO’s Director for Information and Public Relations.

In November, President Salva Kiir said he wants Dr. Riek Machar to sign an agreement –similar to an affidavit– that will make Machar answerable to any undesirable incident that may arise when Johnson Olony is appointed governor of Upper Nile state.

“I am still waiting for my First Vice President Dr Riek Machar to give me the handwritten undertaking letter as we have agreed,” Kiir insisted.

But the SPLM-IO said the revitalized peace agreement gives it the prerogative to nominate individuals as it deems necessary.

According to the revitalized peace agreement, the appointment of constitutional and judicial office holders including state governors is one of the powers exercised by the President but in consultation with the First Vice President, and the four Vice Presidents.

The new peace deal also stipulates that decision making in the Presidency shall be in a spirit of collegial collaboration.

The constitution and the agreement also demand that the President preserve the security of South Sudan and protect its territorial integrity.