Osborne will return, says Agiru

By ISAAC NICHOLAS
THE Somare camp has assured friends of Graham Osborne that he will return to the country
despite his deportation by the national government.
Southern Highlands Governor Anderson Agiru, who was recently appointed deputy leader in the Somare camp, said: “This unlawful act must be condemned in the strongest possible term.”
He said: “Papua New Guinea is a free country; it is a cosmopolitan, a multi-racial and multi-cultural society where businessmen, professional people, working class men and women of all walks of life come to stay and work.”
In a media conference attended by Nuku MP Andrew Kumbakor and Kairuku-Hiri MP Paru Aihi, Agiru said the deportation of Osborne was a sad day for PNG and friends of PNG, including Australia and New Zealand.
“Osborne is a close family friend of the Somares and we meet regularly at his restaurant and use his conference facilities and we pay everyday for fair business.
“Osborne does not do favours for anyone.”
Agiru said Osborne had contributed immensely to PNG in creating jobs for 400 people and in promoting and supporting sports administration and government initiatives.
“He is entitled to the basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution, immigration laws and the criminal code.”
Agiru said such a deportation “is a low act of desperation”.
“Peter O’Neill is generally a good man and a businessman but he is surrounded by advisers with questionable backgrounds and politicians who do not appreciate common human decency and adhere to the rule of law.
“This unlawful act must be condemned and I want to assure the friends of Osborne that he will return very soon,” Agiru said.
The Southern Highlands governor had also received well-wishes on his appointment as deputy leader in the Somare cabinet from Aihi (Southern), Kumbakor (Momase) and Paul Tiensten (islands).
Pomio MP Tiensten said Agiru brought with him a wealth of experience from leading a big and resource-rich province to share his experience and knowledge with the nation.
“It is a loss to the
people of Southern Highlands and Hela but it is a gain for Papua New Guinea to have a man with integrity, experience and governance to contribute to this nation.
“On behalf of my people of Pomio, I salute him for his elevation to the second highest post in the land,” Tiensten said.