RIP OULANYAH: Arua NRM Youths divided over Speaker Replacement

Arua |RedPepper Digital – The NRM youths in Arua City have expressed mixed sentiments over the pending replacement of fallen Speaker of Parliament Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah.

Whereas a section of the youths demanded that the vacant position of the Speaker of Parliament be filled by a Northerner to console the hearts of the people in the region, others are opposed to the idea fearing that the person may end up in the same fate.

The NRM youths were addressing journalists in Arua town on Monday following reports of Oulanyah’s possible replacement before his burial.

“It is a shocking story that Rt. Hon. Speaker Oulanyah has gone. We are still crying, but what is the government going to do to wipe our tears? Mansur Ciriga, an NRM youth, asked.

“Oulanyah has been ours as Northerners in that Parliament and for us to be consoled, at least an MP from the North should be elected to replace him. That alone will wipe our tears,” Ciriga added.

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Abdul Lumago Abiriga, the NRM youth chairperson for Arua Central Division said it is only Oulanyah whom they have been seeing as the top most leader from Northern Uganda in this government.

“This is a leader who has been coming down to us and talking as an ordinary person. We had not seen any other top leader from Northern Uganda coming down to NRM youth leaders and talk to us on how we should run the party apart from Oulanyah but to our dismay, he has passed on,” Abiriga said.

“And here I say may the government and the leadership of NRM think about us and know who to replace him with. They should give us the opportunity to get his replacement because he worked for us so much. We really appreciated the work he did for us in this shortest period as the Speaker and the National NRM Vice Chairperson Northern Uganda,” Abiriga stated.

Victor Vidal Lomori, another NRM youth leader said as people of Northern Uganda, they are saddened by Oulanyah’s demise, adding that it is time for his own to continue with the programs he had started.

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“We are kindly urging the government that in the next election of the Speaker, the chair should remain for the people of Northern Uganda because it has its own benefits. I want to thank the government that in this current government, the cake was fairly distributed across the country. Now that we have lost our own, in the spirit of unity and peaceful co-existence, we are saying this seat of the Speaker should be corded for the Northerners,” Lomori further begged.

However, Miria Ahumed and Al-Hajj Isah Afeku Kato, the former Arua City Mayor disagreed with the youths, saying they shouldn’t force themselves to retain the seat of Speakership.

“I don’t want the government to give back the Speakership to Northern Uganda because it is a hot seat. If it was because of the Speakership that Oulanyah died, then let the seat be,” Miria said.

Similarly, Kato said: “it is a sad moment and today we are talking about our eloquent brother who has left us. If we talk about the position of the Speakership, I think it is useless now to have a Northerner as his replacement because the person may end up in the same fate.”

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