I’m a party man and ready to serve the people - Radrodro

Newly appointed SODELPA Leader and MP Aseri Radrodro says he is a party man and he will respect the decisions of the Management Board.

While responding to questions by the media today if he wants to be reinstated as the Minister for Education, Radrodro says there has been a lot of talk about this and he has stated before that he is a party man.

He says he had accepted the position of a backbencher, so he hopes to resolve this very quickly and move on to serving the people.

When questioned by fijivillage News what will happen to Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka if he does not relinquish his Education Ministry portfolio today, Radrodro says the management board will decide on this and he has directed all questions to the Party Secretariat.

He says they are raising this issue as a party.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka has made it clear that Viliame Gavoka will remain as the Education Minister, and this is his call as the Prime Minister.

Although the SODELPA Management Board has given an ultimatum to Gavoka to relinquish the Education Ministry portfolio by today and allow incoming SODELPA Leader, Aseri Radrodro to take up the ministerial post, Rabuka maintains Gavoka will remain as Education Minister. Rabuka also says the removal of Aseri Radrodro as Education Minister was in exercise of the constitutional prerogative of the Prime Minister.

He stresses that the SODELPA Management Board does not have a say.

Gavoka says he has been impressing on SODELPA not to do something that makes them look desperate.

He says it looks bad for the party as he was quite surprised to get the directive from the party’s management board.

He says the position of the Cabinet is the sole prerogative of the Prime Minister and that is the type of system of government we have embraced in our parliamentary democracy.

Gavoka says the management board cannot be dictating terms to the Prime Minister.