Agiru: Duma still leader of URP

SOUTHERN Highlands Governor Anderson Agiru has corrected misleading reports and said Hagen MP and Petroleum Minister William Duma is the leader of United Resources Party.
The National last Friday reported that Agiru would be calling the shots with the inclusion of five new URP members who had defected from the opposition, announced in parliament last Thursday.
However, the Southern Highlands governor said he had no intention of wrestling the leadership from Duma.
He said Eastern Highlands Governor Malcolm Kela-Smith was the URP deputy leader.
Agiru is the founder of URP and was only helping to consolidate numbers to help the government brush aside any threats of a vote of no-confidence on the prime minister.
He said the defectors had joined URP to stabilise the National Alliance-led coalition government.
He said Steven Kama (Central Bougainville), Isaac Joseph (Mendi), Francis Awesa (Imbonggu), John Garia (Chimbu) and Ferao Orimyo (Henganofi) were credible opposition MPs who had joined the party.
“URP is blessed seven days after the 35th independence anniversary to have five new members and we will support our leader, William Duma, who is the only minister who has delivered two multi-billion-kina projects in PNG, the LNG and Elk- Entelope.
“URP and NA will work together going into the elections and come back to form the next government in 2012,” Agiru said.