‘We Will Not Resign’ SODELPA Officials Tell Rebels Calling On Them To Quit
For those who are working behind the scenes trying to derail our efforts, I wish to remind them to make up their minds now. Our message has always been clear. If they’re not with us then do the honourable thing and leave. Lenaitasi Duru SODELPA general secretary
SODELPA officials on Friday came out firing against rebels calling on them to resign.
This after president Ratu Epenisa Cakobau defied pressure to step down in the latest attempt because he has not been vaccinated.
He joins party leader Viliame Gavoka and general secretary Lenaitasi Duru who have stood their ground against calls for their removal.
“We will not resign,” Mr Duru said emphatically.
“I can confirm that Ratu Epenisa has not resigned. I visited him on Monday after being notified that there was a Facebook post by a Anita Ranjani Mala claiming he had resigned,” Mr Duru said.
“In our discussions, he confirmed that we have a task to achieve and responsibilities to undertake for our people. Unless and until we have delivered those undertakings that were conferred on us by the board, we will remain in office.
“For those who are working behind the scenes trying to derail our efforts, I wish to remind them to make up their minds now. Our message has always been clear. If they’re not with us then do the honourable thing and leave.”
On Wednesday SODELPA’s parliamentary caucus had a heated debate on the so called Ratu Epenisa’s resignation letter.
Mr Gavoka told caucus that Ratu Epenisa had not resigned surprising the perpetrators behind the letter.
A female MP with her colleagues in caucus, members of the conservative right wing loyal to Sitiveni Rabuka, were caught unaware that Ratu Epenisa had not handed his resignation letter. They were talking about his resignation a day prior to the caucus meeting.
The female MP drafted the letter and got Ratu Epenisa to sign it saying he could not access the offices because he was not vaccinated.
Ratu Epenisa thought it was the right thing to do until his meeting with Mr Duru and Mr Gavoka.
It was obvious to him that this was a part of a deliberate campaign by the right wingers to destabilise the party before they defect to Mr Rabuka’s People’s Alliance Party.
Several calls have been made for Mr Gavoka to resign saying he is unfit to lead SODELPA into next year’s General Election because he is the father-in-law of the AttorneyGeneral. But he has remained steadfast and defends resolutely the ideals of SODELPA.
The rebels have also dug deep to find dirt on Mr Duru. The latest doing the rounds is that when he was a young man fresh out of Ratu Kadavulevu School he worked at a bank in Suva. He was convicted, but given a suspended sentence for a minor transaction offence.
That was the only blemish in his record. He has since attended university, graduated and held responsible positions.
But the rebels say that he should be disqualified from holding the general secretary job even though his case was in the 1980s.
The rivalry between the moderates and the right wingers has descended to gutter level politics.
But the moderates leadership will not give in easily until their work is accomplished.