Fitial said there is a committee composed of key people from both parties who are working on the planned merger.
The committee is already discussing the candidates of the reunified party in the next local and federal elections.
Fitial said the CNMI people “have to understand that I am a lifetime RNC member and I’ve been a member of that organization [the GOP] for the longest time.”
Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos, another former Republican, on Tuesday said he would not abandon the Covenant Party.
Fitial and Inos have been publicly disagreeing over the hiring of former Department of Public Safety Deputy Commissioner Ambrosio Ogumoro.
Ogumoro was twice relieved from his duties by Inos only to be later reinstated by Fitial.
The governor yesterday refused to discuss the issue.
“If you are going to ask me about the rift issue, I’m not going to say anything about it. You guys please stop doing that,” he told reporters.
Inos said he does not believe the CNMI needs to be a Republican bailiwick and have a Republican delegate in the future just to get the support of U.S. Republicans who will control the U.S. House starting in January.
He noted that Congressman Gregorio C. Sablan ran as an independent but managed to get the support of the Democratic leadership of the U.S. Congress.
Any delegate, Inos added, can always align himself with whatever party is running the U.S. Congress.
