Secretary of Samoan Affairs Mauga Tasi Asuega is convening a meeting of ranking matai of the Western District on Friday to select a new Western District Governor.
This is according to an announcement in the Samoan language by Deputy Secretary of Samoan Affairs Malemo Tausaga which first aired on V103 Radio yesterday.
The announcement invites titular heads of counties in the Western District to attend a meeting at the Office of Samoab Affairs at 10 am Friday, May 5 to deliberate once again on the position of Western District Governor.
As KHJ News reported, only five ranking chiefs of the Western District had signed the certification document verifying that Tuiasina Esera of Vailoa, a former senator of Tuala-tai, had been selected as the next District Governor.
The position became vacant due to the passing of Lualemaga Faoa who was beginning his second term as District Governor when he died suddenly on January 24th.
A chief of Vailoa who spoke to KHJ News on condition that his identity not be disclosed, said that the reason why he and the other ranking chiefs of Fofo, Alataua, Tuala-uta and other counties of the Western District had not signed the certification document, is because of the manner in which the selection was made.
The chief recounted that after the District Council reached consensus to have Satele select the new District Governor they left Satele and matais of their village of Vailoa to meet.
He said Satele never once mentioned to them that he was going to name Tuiasina Esera for the position.
He said there was a notion to have Satele take up the District Governor post vacating the Tuala-tai Senate seat.
The matai said he left the meeting and only Satele and Tuiasina remained at the meeting venue.
And there was no other discussion on the mater.
The matai said he only learned through the newspaper the next day that Satele had decided on Tuiasina, a selectigon the chief said goes against traditional protocol, because the title is not a top tier one, commensurate with the District Governor position..
The matai said because there was already tension in their village of Vailoa from previous disagreements with Satele, he doubted that there would be support for Tuiasina’s selection.
The matai felt that the best solution is to have the governor name a new district governor for the Western District.
