Former SODELPA leader Ro Teimumu Kepa has resigned from the party’s management board, to enable her membership of the Great Council of Chiefs which meets tomorrow at Pacific Harbour.
Party general secretary Viliame Takayawa confirmed she resigned last Friday, two days before posting on social media she was “not a contender for the presidency”.
The Facebook post last Sunday said, “I am not a contender for the position of president, and if my name has been proposed, then it has been done without my knowledge or consent”.
Ro Teimumu also voiced her disappointment at Mr Takayawa for making statements regarding her nomination for the presidency “without the courtesy of seeking her view or even discussing the matter with her before issuing any statement”.
She also stated the position was initially offered to her by The People’s Alliance party (PA) during the negotiation week at the first management board meeting in December 2022, but there have been no further discussions since.
“It concerns me as Roko Tui Dreketi, that my name and title is being promoted as a challenger to our current president, the Gone Turaga Bale na Tui Macuata, His Excellency Ratu Wiliame Katonivere and such unfounded statements could easily create a perception that the current relationship between the Tui Macuata and me or between our two provinces or vanua o Caumatalevu and Burebasaga is strained, which is not the case,” she added.
Speaking to The Fiji Times, Mr Takayawa said the management board members had nominated Ro Teimumu as a contender for the presidential role in 2022.
“She was always informed and updated for the last 13 months,” Mr Takayawa said.
“There is no other name to give as the proposal from PA and NFP was specifically for her.
“The presidency issue is null and void now due to her resignation.”
