The former Opposition Leader and Member for Kandrian- Gloucester, Joseph Lelang has finally made his move to join the ranks of the government, siding with the Pangu Pati and boosting its strength to 58 members. Lelang resigned last week as the leader of the alternate government, stepping into the backbenches of the Opposition when Parliament reconvened on Tuesday this week. Today, flanked by most of the government members at Parliament’s State Function room, and other coalition partners, including West New Britain Governor Sasindran Mutuvel, Lelang was officially welcomed into government by Prime Minister (PM) James Marape and his Deputy, John Rosso. Lelang’s move now means that the whole New Britain Island – East and West – has all its elected representatives in one government, a feat for the Marape-led governing executive. Both Marape and Rosso welcome the seniority and experience Lelang brings with him. “Welcome, for the first time, to the Honorable Joseph Lelang, after serving consistently since 2012. On behalf of all of us, I’d like to offer a special welcome,” the prime minister told Lelang. “He now decides to join us with the rest of the New Guinea Islands leaders in government, and now joins us for the first time in his career in Government.” “Last night he was brought into the Pangu Pati caucus, and I make a special thank you to his governor Muthuvel, and two other leaders from West New Britain for reaching out to Honourable Lelang.” “So now we combine both islands, and it is a significant achievement for us to combine island-wide interest as we pursue one interest in this government,” Marape said. He further said, “Honorable Lelang is not a new kid on the block; he was a senior bureaucrat and recently was the head of the alternate government and resigned as Opposition Leader when his rights were trampled upon, and based on West New Britain Provincial interest, and New Guinea Island interest and in this context, decided to come in together instead of fighting from outside.” “They decided to work from within to offer constructive criticism and to drive our regional and national agendas.” Rosso too, as Marape’s number two, and also deputy Pangu leader, extended his warm welcome to Lelang. “He (Lelang) brings a wealth of experience with him, sitting on the Opposition bench as the Opposition Leader, and he’s been very articulate and proven to be a very good Opposition Leader. He always expounds on and using facts, and does personalize anything.” “He brings us over that threshold, and now we (Pangu) are sitting on a comfortable 58, but this does not diminish the very strong support we get from our coalition partners that we value very, very highly,” Ross said. In response, Lelang said he is now committed to supporting the current government, when acknowledging the welcoming remarks from both the prime minister and his deputy. “I want to thank the prime minister for inviting me, because as I was sitting there (on the back bench of opposition), I was pondering the kind of political future I would have and how I can continue to contribute to the service of our nation and to our people, so I want to thank the prime minister for inviting me to join the government ranks, and to join Pangu Party which I have accepted,” he said “I know I have just joined, but I can reassure the prime minister, and leaders of the coalition government parties that I will do my utmost best to join hands and contribute together in the service of our people and our nation.” Meantime, the prime minister, when describing this week as hectic, expressed his gratitude to the public, civil servants, and the business community for their ongoing patience as parliament proceeds with its procedures, emphasizing the importance of adhering to due processes relating to the motion of no confidence vote.