SODELPA management board meeting was hijacked by the Party President and Leader - Tabuya

SODELPA Whip Lynda Tabuya has raised serious concerns on how their management board meeting was abruptly stopped today by their party president Ratu Epenisa Cakobau even before the agenda was fully discussed however the party leader Viliame Gavoka says they disagreed with what the other faction wanted discussed.

Tabuya, Watisoni Nata and their supporters walked out of the meeting and Tabuya said that the meeting was hijacked.

Tabuya says Watisoni Nata from the Suva Constituency had brought up a motion saying the General Secretary’s probation should not be confirmed and that he should no longer be the Secretary but the Chair of the meeting Ratu Epenisa stopped that motion from going to vote.

She says the motion was for a disciplinary committee to sit and to investigate the party leader’s involvement in the alleged fake management board resolution as part of his affidavit.

Tabuya says 19 board members were present where 14 of them voted for the agenda to change.

She says she is losing faith in the executives that run the party and people are also losing faith in the party.

Tabuya says there are also governance issues and they want the party’s financial issues to be discussed.

She says you can’t keep playing the vanua card in politics.

Tabuya says if the vanua is brought in to excuse the bad behaviour of the leaders then they are abusing the vanua, where it is used to protect perjury. Meanwhile Viliame Gavoka says they have decided that an independent committee will look into the issue and they will bring their finding to the management board.

Gavoka says they did not want members of the management board to be members of that committee so they have decided to nominate Ratu Ilaitia Tuisese, former judge Siromi Turaga and Laisa Vulakoro.

He says the other faction did not accept that, which was very sad.

Gavoka says the call today was for everyone to come in and work together but that particular faction is very difficult to convince.

He says they have shown today that when they stand on something, they will go for it, and if people decide to walk out its just too bad.

Gavoka says they will have another meeting in January 2022 where the report of the Committee will be brought in and discussed.