MANASSEH SOGAVARE WALKS OUT PROUD
Ousted Prime Minister (PM) Manasseh Sogavare says he walks out of parliament with his head held high. Mr Sogavare told the floor of parliament before the vote of No Confidence Motion was held that he was removed for standing against corruption. The Member of Parliament (MP) for East Choiseul says he was a proud man after all, to walk out of parliament with clean hands and integrity.
He revealed on the floor of parliament that the defected MPs teamed up with the other side of the house to remove him, in order to pursue their personal interests. Mr Sogavare said he is a proud man at the end of the day, for standing against corruption and corrupt leaders, which is the sole reason for his downfall as the leader of the Democratic Coalition for Change (DCC) government. Former PM Mr Sogavare served his fourth term in parliament when he was nominated and elected to lead the DCC government in December 2014.
After three years of DCC in office, a motion of no confidence was moved by MP for North East Guadalcanal and Leader of the Independent group Dr Derek Sikua, which resulted in his removal from office on Monday.
Mr Sogavare told parliament that he defended the interest of the nation over personal interests of politicians who left government to weaken his numerical strength, with the motive to unseat him.
He responded to all the allegations raised against his leadership by explaining on the floor of parliament that there are people who treat public office as their private or family business.
He said defected MPs were not happy with reshuffling and terminations made by his government because they have personal interests over national interests, thus his removal is purely based on their self-serving agendas.