By Uche Nnorom
The Benue Political landscape is rumbling at the moment over the nomination of a minister as the two dominant tribes, Tiv and Idoma are at each other’s throat.
While the former is alleging that the latter has enjoyed so much Federal appointments in past administrations at the national level, the latter claim that for natural justice and equity, they deserve to have a ministerial slot, especially as they have not been given an opportunity to govern the state since its creation in 1976.
Agitations for the ministerial slot for the State heightened soon after the general elections were concluded and Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerged as President. The former Deputy Governor, Steven Lawani, who was the only Benue indigene on the Tinubu Campaign Directorate was tipped for the job by almost everyone in the state.
Lawani himself may have gone to sleep with full confident that his chance will not be tampered with by anyone. But little did he envisage that there were chess moves to checkmate him and the entire Idoma nation.
The Ochagwu K’Idoma has enjoyed long ties with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. George Akume, and had worked very hard to ensure the victory of the All Progressives Congress, APC which won eight out of nine local government areas of Zone C including three of the four House of Representatives seats as well as State Assembly seats.
According to observers, therefore, if performance assessment is to be considered, the Zone deserves to be given a ministerial position as consolation.
But, this was not to be as the leader of the party in the State had his cards close to his chest that not even the Governor may have known. And the name Joseph Utsev sprung from the blues as the chosen one for the miniaterial position.
Mr Utsev, a civil engineer and former Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Wanune in Tarka LGA of Benue State, was a commissioner in the administration of former Governor Samuel Ortom in the state. His nomination and subsequent screening by the Senate has raised alot of dust in the State.
Before his nomination was announced, the Youth Wing of Benue Rebirth Movement, BRM, had raising the alarm and speculated that a Tiv son would likely be picked for the position of minister from the State.
At a press briefing in Makurdi, Atsar Baba Gundu, a chieftain of the Movement who hails from Tarka local government area country home of the SGF had frowned at the move saying, ‘we the youths are highly agitated by this move. We can not stand and watch while our political elders are preparing grounds for dangerous ethnic rivalries for us and our children as these actions have generated ethnic tensions for too long and must be corrected.
“We demand that the next Minister from Benue state should be from Zone C irrespective of religion, age or gender.
“The Governor should liaise with the APC Leader in the state, Sen. George Akume, to identify a loyal party man or a technocrat from zone C for appointment as minister.
In the same vein, a coalition of Idoma professionals led by Hon. Inalegwu Adaje had lamented in a press statement that the ‘recent ministerial nomination is a serious violation of section 14 subsection 3 of the 1999 Constitution as amended”.
Hon. Inalegwu Adaje who spoke on behalf of Idoma nation said,“What we have in Benue today is one tribe dominating everything as if we don’t have equal rights as Nigerians.
“The Governor is a Tiv man, Speaker of the State House of Assembly is a Tiv man, Chief Judge of the State is Tiv, Chief of Staff to the Governor is a Tiv man, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) is a Tiv man, member of Board, North East Development, Federal level appointments all Tiv. We reject this in totality and call for inclusiveness.”
The coalition leader frowned at the alleged deliberate plan led by the SGF to sideline other tribes in Benue. He, therefore, called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately sack the SGF, Mr George Akume.
“The constitution is very clear and unambiguous, the composition of the government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or any of its agencies.
“Does having SGF and Minister, all from the same ethnic group (Tiv) from a multi-ethnic Benue State in the President Tinubu led Federal Government (cabinet) not amount to breach or violation of Section.14,Sections 3 of Nigeria’s Constitution?
“And in a situation where the constitution is perceived to be breached or violated, are we not supposed to cry out or draw the attention of the authorities to such violation?
“We, therefore, call on President Tinubu to do the needful as soon as possible,” the statement read.
But in another twist of event, APC Youth group from Benue South Senatorial District(Idoma land), countered the elders and backed the nomination of Utsev for the ministerial slot from Benue State.
Led by Comrade Okpokwu Ogenyi, the youths called on the President to consider slot for the Idoma/Igede speaking people of Benue state.
Ogenyi argued that the nomination of Utsev by President Tinubu was in line with extant provision of the law.
The group noted that the rejection of Mr Godday Samuel Adagboyi allegedly nominated by Chief Audu Ogbeh as the choice of the Idoma/Igede people of Benue South did not come to them as a surprise since he worked against the APC in the 2023 general elections.
The group noted: “We read with great dismay, the press conference by some idoma/Igede older persons most of whom are not of the APC stock, people who never campaigned for the Party, some were even seen campaigning for other political parties and made statements on National television against the APC and voted against our Presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“When it was time to unite the Idoma/Igede nation, one Johnson Inalegwu Agada who was part of the 29th July, press conference, led a group of Idoma/Igede people in the guise of G-9 and went round candidates of opposition parties, a sabotage that heavily reduced the collective votes of our party in Zone C.
“Some of the persons including a former House of Representatives Member, Godday Samuel Adagboyi, lost his re-election bid on the heels of his indecisive nature of campaigning for his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.
“It was alleged that it was Godday Samuel Adagboyi who introduced Mr Peter Obi to Pastor Dr Paul Enenche, the reason why he refused to join the State Campaign team safe for his personal electioneering Campaign which he printed all his campaign materials without the picture of the President, Deputy Governor or Senatorial Candidates of the APC. To the glory of God, he was the only House of Representatives candidate of APC who lost his election in Benue State.
“The elders abandoned the campaign completely, most of them voted against the APC during the elections and they are now the ones complaining about appointment. This is the reason why we preached synergy during the elections and the need to work wholeheartedly for the APC.
“While we sincerely wish the Idoma/Igede nation is given the opportunity to produce a Federal Minister, which is still possible with the second batch of ministerial nominee, we expect the elders to congratulate the Benue State nominee just as the leader of the party, Sen. George Akume did when Comrade Abba Moro was appointed Minister during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration with Sen. David Mark as Senate President. Both Mark and Abba are from zone c extraction”.
Similarly, Tiv Youth Council Worldwide condemned a statement credited to the Coalition of Idoma Professionals led by Hon. Inalegwu Adaje in which the coalition kicked against Prof. Utsev’s nomination.
The President of the umbrella body of the Tiv Youths, Hon. Mike Msuaan while reacting to the statement, described it as, “most regrettable, pitiable and a display of ignorance of the workings of democracy.”
He insisted that the Idoma Coalition lacked the moral right to cry injustice as they have not just represented the same but also marshalled, promoted and benefited from injustice against the Tiv people.
Hon. Msuaan reminded the Coalition of Idoma Professionals that in 2007, David Mark was made Senate President while in 2011, Abba Moro was appointed Minister of Interior from the same idoma extraction as Mark.
“The Tiv people witnessed the highest level of injustice with Tiv names removed from Tiv Local Government Areas and replaced with Idoma names in employment and recruitment into military and paramilitary outfits”, he stated.
Sadly for Okpokwu and his team of agitators, the second batch of 19 ministerial nominees was on Wednesday 2nd August, 2023 sent to the Senate for screening with Benue conspicuously missing.
