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Benue crisis: Kwande indigene fingers Akume, Ayu
Ibanga Isine, Kaduna
An indigene of Adikpo in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State, Chief Ayatse Ayatse, has accused the Benue State Governor, Mr. George Akume, and the Minister for Internal Affairs, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, of complicity in the crisis in the area.
Reacting to Akume�s indictment, Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Publicity, Ms. Becky Opin, said that those who were using the governor�s outburst against the Catholic bishop in the area to accuse him of complicity were over-flogging the issue.
Ayatse said that the crisis in Kwande Local Government Area arose due to the failure of the governor to respect the advice of a cross section of the leaders of Benue people who insisted that the result of the council poll in the area be released.
Ayatse, who said this in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Kaduna, expressed surprise over the attitude of the governor whom he said turned deaf ears when the lives and property of the people were destroyed.
He said, �We all acknowledge the symbiotic relationship between politics and governance.
�However, good leaders worth their salt would always put aside politics to ensure good governance.
�This is, perhaps, unfortunately absent in the case of Benue State.
�Why must Mr. George Akume react angrily with the issue of Kwande crisis?
�Why must he betray his outward humble disposition by attacking a Catholic bishop in one of his sermons in the church?�
He said that several groups and persons within and outside the state including the Tiv traditional council and the area traditional council in Kwande have appealed to the government to take decisive measures to end the intractable madness to no avail.
He accused Akume and Ayu of instigating the State Independent Electoral Commission not to announce the result of the local government poll in Kwande so as to punish the people for holding a divergent political view.
He called on the National Assembly to implement the report of the Senate Committee on the Kwande crisis to the fullest in order to bring all those who were found to have been responsible for arming and training the militia in the area to book.
He also called for an unconditional release of the result of the local government election in Kwande and the winner given the instrument of power without further delay in the spirit of democracy.
He said that he was not a politician and was not contemplating joining politics but that he was concerned about the senseless killings and destruction of property, describing the situation as a retrogressive madness.
�Going back to history, it is on record that political violence is undoubtedly one prominent feature of politics in Tiv land although this is not to say that political violence is only peculiar to Tiv people of Nigeria.
�The acts of political violence have today significantly accounted for the pathetic state of socio-economic under-development of Benue State and the Tiv people in particular,� he noted.
He expressed concern that recently, armed militia groups have been introduced into the political sphere of the State, adding that if the situation were not tackled, the people of Kwande would be totally wiped out.
The governor�s aide said that there was no restiveness in any part of the State as the impression was being given to people outside Benue, adding that if the governor had had an outburst in the church as it was alleged, it was a matter for the church to settle.
�The Ayatse of a man is he part of the Catholic priesthood, is he a bishop? What is his role in this entire thing? They want to make the issue appear as if there is tension in Benue,� she said.
She said that it was not the duty of the governor to annul an election or cause the cause the cancellation of an election, stressing that whatever happened during the alleged election was the decision of the State Independent Electoral Commission.
Opin said that there was no election in Kwande local government area and argued that were there was no election; it would not have been appropriate for the electoral body to declare a result.
The PUNCH, Thursday, July 8, 2004.
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