By Michaël Ojok
As the Acholi Parliamentary Group (APG) prepare to elect new leadership, the embattled former chairperson Anthony Akol, the Kilak North Member of Parliament, has opted out of the race.
Akol had been APG chairperson not until February 2024 when a faction of APG members held a crises meeting at Parliament and elected Okot John Amos as chairperson and Gulu City Woman MP Betty Aol Ocan as vice-chairperson.
Akol who had led APG since 2021 rejected the results saying the election was conducted without the knowledge of the majority of the APG members.
The infighting and parallel leadership structures triggered alarm among the Acholi community and cultural leaders.
The Archbishop Emeritus of Gulu Archdiocese, John Baptist Odama, along with elders and cultural chiefs, intervened to mediate the power struggle.
Following mediation, both Okot and Akol stepped aside.
Gulu City Woman MP Betty Aol Ocan was appointed to serve as the interim chairperson to oversee a fair and unified election for a new executive committee.
Now that the election of the new office bearers is in the offing, Akol, through his official X formerly Twitter handle said he will not seek any leadership role in the Group.
