The Chief Press Secretary to Benue State Governor, Nat Ikyur, has said his Principal does not hate the Idoma people of Benue South, contrary to the wide speculations on some sections of the media.
Ikyur was reacting to the statement credited to the Benue Rebirth Movement (BRM), an organization saddled with the promotion of the agenda for Idoma governorship of Benue State, come 2023.
The Idoma and Igede people, representing the 9 Local Government Areas of Benue South, have been agitating to occupy the Makurdi Government House, 46 years after the creation of the state from the old Benue-Plateau.
To further achieve this aim in 2023, the Idoma people had nominated the Deputy Governor, Benson Abounu as their sole candidate in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who has since obtained the nomination forms.
Their Tiv counterparts, representing 14 Local Governments of Benue North East and Benue North West, on Sunday, concluded on the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Titus Uba as their consensus candidate, from amongst the 34 Tiv aspirants in PDP.
Irked by the development, the National Coordinator of the BRM, Air Vice Marshall Monday Morgan (Rtd.), in a statement on Monday, alluded that the move was a ploy by the State Governor, Samuel Ortom and the Tiv key players to edge the Idoma people out of the 2023’s journey to the Government House.
But the Governor’s Spokesman, in a statement on Tuesday, said, the “allegation against the Governor is spurious and far from the truth, particularly as it relates to the 2023 governorship election in Benue State”.
He said, “since 2015 when Governor Samuel Ortom came to office, he has continued to promote the unity of the state with accentuated vigour. This is also displayed in the now famous ‘Unity Cap’ which he preaches to build unity among all ethnic nationalities in the state and Nigeria in general”, adding that Ortom has been building bridges across all the ethnic nationalities and interests in the state.
“It is on record that Governor Ortom had counselled the leadership of the Benue Rebirth Movement to reach out to their Tiv brothers to canvass support across all political parties, and not just in the People’s Democratic Party, PDP for the purpose of an Idoma son or daughter to be elected as Governor of the State. That way, Governor Ortom believes there will be a singleness of purpose and approach for our Idoma brothers to have a level field of contest.
“We advise the Benue Rebirth Movement to do more homework by building trust and confidence with their Tiv brothers in their quest and not to turn and make Governor Ortom an issue in their contest for the governorship of the state.
“Governor Ortom is not against an Idoma man becoming the governor of the State. It is a process that involves everyone”, the statement added.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayAdvertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com