MP Tambua quits Cabinet

AGRICULTURE Minister and Goroka MP Aiye Tambua has stepped aside as a cabinet minister after social media posts linked him to a court case published in The National on Tuesday.
In a statement yesterday, he said: “Given the circumstances, in order to protect and maintain integrity of the office and the Government, I will step aside as the member of Cabinet with immediate effect.”
The National’s report on Tuesday’s front page did not name the Member of Parliament allegedly involved in a matter before the court, because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Yesterday, Tambua said: “I categorically deny the allegations as published in The National without my name being stated.
“However, the social media through the various social media forums, have circulated my name widely in PNG with so much defamatory comments.”
On Monday, Magistrate Peter Balos had summoned an MP to appear in court next Monday and file his affidavit in response to an Interim Protection Order (IPO) application filed against him by his wife.
Tabua added yesterday: “Unbeknown to me, my estranged wife issued proceedings at the Waigani District Court and obtained an IPO on Sept 4.
“And on Sept 7, she travelled to Australia with my children.”
He said there was no court documents served to his lawyer pertaining to the proceeding.
“The allegations which were used as the basis for the IPO application were not even disclosed to my lawyer in court on Monday,” he said.
On the social media posts, he said: “I am forgiving you all for your comments against me as I still hold my wife and my children in high regard and vow to maintain the integrity of our family.”
Meanwhile, Sgt Tinol Pakipon told The National last night that he had advised the case officers at the Family Sexual Violence Unit to serve files on Tambua’s lawyer Myron Ipape as per the court’s directive on Monday.