The former commander of the Ninewa Operations Command has nominated himself for the position of Ninewa governor after Mansour al-Mar’id was dismissed by the provincial council, sources confirmed to KirkukNow.
In its Tuesday November 19 session attended by 23 members, the council voted for the removal of Mansour al-Mar’id from the post of governor and assigned his deputy to run the affairs of the office.
“Brigadier General Najm al-Jiburi has officially submitted his candidacy to the provincial council,” an informed source said.
The source indicated that “a-Jiburi has the consent of the majority of the factions within the provincial council”, adding that “there is a rivalry between him and the former head of the Crisis Management Cell Muzahim al-Khayat, al-Jibouri's having bigger chances towin.”
Najm Abdulla Abdul-Saleh al-Jiburi, born in Ninewa in 1956, assumed different military and security positions, before retiring as commander of Ninewa Operations Command earlier this year.
Ahmed al-Jiburi, a representative of Ninewa in the Iraqi parliament on Saturdy, Novemeber 23, announced that Najm al-Jiburi has formally nominated himself for the post of governor.
“Najm Abdulla al-Jiburi is officially a nominee for the postilion of Ninewa governor,” he posted on his twitter account.
The Iraqi MP added that most of the candidates have withdrawn from the race in respect and appreciation of Najm al-Jiburi’s patriotic stances,” adding that “the provincial council now has the opportunity for a course correction by choosing him as governor.”
The Ninewa provincial council’s decision to sack al-Mar’id came after the Iraqi parliament voted on October 28, 2019 to freeze the work of the provincial councils, within a set of measures aimed to calm anti-government protests which have broken out in Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces to demand reform.
