Naga National Political Groups elect new leadership, reaffirm commitment to political solution

Three days after the Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups (WC, NNPGs) elected its new Convener and working Conveners, it has stated that the ‘Convener’ of WC NNPGs is “neither hereditary nor pre-eminent, but a nominal head unanimously elected/selected” to lead the NNPGs by maintaining unanimity, cohesion and transparency.

In a statement issued late Sunday night, the WC NNPGs, which has elected Gen (retd) MB Neokpao Konyak as the Convener, stated that the “Agreed Position” of November 17, 2017 is not “something patented for exclusive individual ownership but an official political document outlining the roadmap for an inclusive Naga political solution.”

The statement reiterated that the NNPG was established through a mutual agreement between various Naga political groups “to collectively and politically engage with the Government of India with the clear objective of securing an honourable and enduring political solution to the Indo-Naga political conflict”.

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“Every Naga has an equal stake in the agreement, and no individual leader or group should assume individual monopoly over the Agreed Position based on being a signatory,” the statement issued by the Media Cell of the WC, NNPGs, added.

“To observe protocols and decorum within the conglomerate, a Working Committee was constituted from among the representatives nominated to the NNPGs by the respective Naga political groups. As such, N Kitovi Zhimomi, former Ato Kilonser of GPRN/NSCN(U), nominated by his President Gen. (Retd.) MB Neokpao to the NNPGs, was inducted into the Working Committee as the Convener,” the statement said.

However, following Zhimomi’s impeachment on April 21, 2024, by ‘their group’ as Ato Kilonser, he was subsequently recalled from the WC, NNPGs, it maintained. 

The statement further stated that the WC, NNPGs, on April 28 and May 28, 2024, “unanimously resolved to keep the position of Convener in moratorium while efforts towards rapprochement were initiated and until such time as a new Convener is elected/selected.
The statement  noted that Co-Conveners Toshi Walling, Shitoho Chophy, and Kiumukam had appended their “signatures on all WC resolutions endorsing the removal of Zhimomi from the position of Convener.”

However, the reasons for their self-contradictory stance in signing the press statement alongside Zhimomi were “best known to them,” it added.

Meanwhile, while sincerely acknowledging N Kitovi Zhimomi’s sacrifices in steering the platform thus far, the WC, NNPGs urged him to “demonstrate maturity and prioritize the common interests of the Nagas over personal differences or ambitions.”

Last week, president of GPRN/NSCN, MB Neokpao Konyak was appointed as the convener of the WC NNPGs while ato kilonser (prime minister) of NSCN/GPRN (Reformation), P Tikhaka and ato kilonser of NSCN/GPRN (K), Col (retd) Isak Sumi were appointed as working conveners of the Committee.