Jonglei Governor Mahjoub Biel. (Photo/Office of the President/Facebook).

Newly appointed Jonglei State Governor Mahjoub Biel Turuk vowed to work with local authorities to keep peace as he took oath on Friday at a ceremony witnessed by President Kiir and senior officials.

This comes as the former governor, Denay Chagor raised concerns regarding his replacement from the position, which he claims was originally allocated to his South Sudan United Movement docket.

According to a statement from the president’s office, Kiir appealed to South Sudanese citizens to “wholeheartedly” embrace peace and unity in order to foster progress and development.

Speaking after taking oath, Governor Biel expressed “his willingness to work with the local authorities to foster peace and security within the state”.

Former Jonglei governor Chagor previously blamed some SSOA leaders including Vice President Hussein Abdelbagi for what he termed as a unilateral dismissal that violates the 2018 peace deal.

Chagor argued that under the Revitalized Peace Agreement, positions allocated to the SSOA were to be evenly distributed among its member parties.

He said any alterations to the power-sharing arrangement should be conducted through a consultative process involving all SSOA members and the Chairperson of SSOA, Josephine Lagu.

However, SSOA Spokesperson Stephen Lual refuted Chagor’s claims, adding that the decision to dismiss him was reached unanimously and in the spirit of the organization’s dialogue framework.

President Salva Kiir sacked Chagor on May 29, 2024 and picked Biel as his replacement, after relieving the latter from his roles in the national parliament.

Prior to the administrative changes, Mahjoub Biel was a member of the national parliament and Chief Whip of South Sudan Opposition Alliance – one of the signatories to the 2018 peace accord.

During the 2020 formation of the unity government, in which SSOA was handed one Jonglei governorship position, Biel and Chagor were both nominated by their respective parties for the role.

President Kiir then appointed Chagor as the governor after relieving him from the higher education ministry.