The shocking details of why the Leader of the Opposition and the opposition National Unity Platform party leader (NUP), Joel Ssenyonyi, is pushing the opposition legislators to shun the regional parliamentary sitting in Gulu have emerged.
It has been established that NUP and its leadership are angry with the people of Northern Uganda because the entire region did not vote for their party and they have no parliamentary representation from the region.
Gulu is set to host the inaugural regional parliament sitting from 28th to 30th August 2024, at Kaunda grounds.
LOP Ssenyonyi said as the opposition, they are opposed to the regional sittings due to the high cost it comes with.
This has been however watered down by a section of opposition MPs, including Dr. Abed Bwanika (NUP) and Dr. Michael Lulume (DP), who have both revealed that there were no consultations made by the office of the LOP.
In the current heat against the parliamentary regional sitting in Gulu and other regions, Ssenyonyi fronts the budget for the sittings as an excuse to save taxpayers money. This is a hoodwink to the public. Why doesn’t the leader of the opposition tell the public how much taxpayer money is spent on foreign trips for Robert Kyagulanyi, his family, and other opposition MPs?
The public needs to know that the National Unity platform, like any other party, receives money from the government. NUP receives over Shs3 billion from the government, which is taxpayers’ money but is mostly spent on the personal luxuries of a few individuals within the party.
The question on the regional parliamentary sessions exposes extreme hate for Northern Uganda by the NUP opposition structure, and this is why the move to hold the sessions in regions was resolved in a plenary sitting with the NUP MPs and the LOP in attendance. It was not yet decided on which region to start with; all was well until the parliament chose to start with Gulu, where NUP has completely no representative in the house.
The joy with which the Gulu community is welcoming the parliamentary sitting appears to NUP that the government, which they oppose, is making an inclusive impression, which may earn it more support. To NUP this is unacceptable and that’s why boycotting tomorrow’s parliamentary sitting is the top option on NUP’s opposition agenda.
Ssenyonyi and NUP leadership want to foil a good initiative by parliament just because it does not favor their usual hate campaign. No wonder the move to boycott the sitting has been rejected by some opposition members who see the need to have the Northern region benefit from this initiative by parliament tackling their issues and the business community earning from hosting the parliamentarians.
The people of Gulu are minding less of the hate politics from Ssenyonyi and NUP leadership, and this is the attitude all other regions should respond with to political haters. Gulu city is in a thrilling mood with streets being cleaned, and to the people of Gulu, this is an opportunity for them to recover from the wounds of the LRA war and reconnect in unity with other regions as they host their representatives.
