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

The SPLM-IO has maintained that it still wants Johnson Olony as governor for Upper Nile state as consultations over the stalemate are ongoing.

It is over a month now since President Salva Kiir appointed nine governors and three chief administrators in South Sudan.

The main opposition group, SPLM-IO submitted the name of Gen. Johnson Olony as its preferred candidate for the gubernatorial post.

But the President declined to appoint him.

His 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.”

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

Maj.-Gen. 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.

President Salva Kiir has used different platforms to urged Machar to appoint someone else.

Kiir insists that he does not want renewed conflicts in the country, arguing that the responsibility for peace and security across the country rests with him.

But speaking to Eye Radio this morning, the spokesperson in the Office of the First Vice President says Johnson Olony remains SPLM-IO’s preferred candidate for the Upper Nile governorship position.

James Gatdet, however, added that consultations are still ongoing at the presidency to reach an amicable solution.

“They are centered on the fact that John Olony remains our nominee and since the president has not accepted, but we insist that he is our nominee from our party and he should be appointed as the governor,” Gatdet told Eye Radio.

The parties to the revitalized peace deal last week agreed on how to share positions in the states.

They agreed on the allocations for ministerial positions, advisors, and commissions.

The parties are yet to settle on the allocation of positions for County Commissioners.