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Tag: Benue

  • PDP members defect to APC in Benue

    PDP members defect to APC in Benue

    The victory of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari  of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the recent presidential elections has had a ripple effect in some parts of the country.

    In Benue State, where the APC won two senatorial seats some  number seats in the House of Representatives, three top members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have led of their supporters and other party members to defect to the APC.

    The defectors are: two former council chairmen, Abaji Godfrey Ichoghol and Andrew Ayande and a former Adviser to Governor Gabriel Suswan, Moses Adasu, and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor, Mr. Francis Nyibiam and his colleague, Anta Igbaato.

    Former Youth Director, Governor Gabriel Suswam Campaign Organisation, Chief John Akperashi Gum, is also scheduled to defecting to the APC today (April 7). The APC is also believed to be making plans to receive other PDP chieftains such as, former Minister of Justice, Mike Aondoakaa (SAN), Deputy Governor of Benue State, Chief Steven Lawani, and Emmanuel Udende, a PDP member-elect of the House of Representatives for the Ukum, Katsina-Ala and Logo Federal Constituency.

    Before the presidential elections, Akperashi withdrew all his campaign vehicles from the PDP Campaign Organisation and rebranded them with the campaign pictures of Gen. Buhari and Chief Ortom, the APC governorship candidate. He also formally donated an undisclosed sum of money to the Ortom/Abounu Campaign Organisation.

    Meanwhile, a PDP chieftain was beaten and stripped naked by angry PDP members for campaigning for the governorship candidate of the APC in this week’s election.

    The incident happened at a birthday thanksgiving service of Solomon Wombo, a PDP member and Special Adviser to the Governor on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, held at the Akume Atongo Stadium in Kastina-Ala Local Government Area.

    Akor Ikyegh, a relation to the wife of the celebrant, a former Youth Leader in Ushongo Local Government Area and personal aide to Prof. Daniel Iornem, a member of the Suswam Campaign Organisation, was said to have been caught distributing handbills of Samuel Ortom, the governorship candidate of the APC.

    It was learnt that irate youths at the event which had Governor Suswam and other PDP chieftains in attendance, descended on Ikyegh after they found a teenager distributing handbills with Ortom’s message titled: ‘Rotation of governorship position among Benue churches: The time for the Pentecostal.’

    While beating the unnamed youth, he confessed that the handbills were given to him by Akor Ikyegh.

    They then searched for Ikyegh, beat him mercilessly before finally stripping him of his clothes. He was saved from death by men of the Nigeria Police as well as other security agents at the event.

  • APC wins two Senate seats, five Reps seats in Benue

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State won two Senate seats and five House of Representative seats in last weekend’s elections.

    The result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed that APC won in Makurdi/Guma, Gboko/Tarka and Buruku federal constituencies.

    APC also won in Jechria Federal Constituency, as Iorwase Hemmbe was returned. In Kwande/Ushong, William Wayo of APC won.

    Emmanuel Udende Jika Tor Dwem of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won in Ukum/Logo/Katsina Ala Federal Constituency.

    Senator George Akume and Barnabas Gemade of the APC also won their elections.

     

  • APC wins Vandeikya/Konshisha constituency in Benue

    APC wins Vandeikya/Konshisha constituency in Benue

    Hemen Hembe of the APC has retained his seat in the National Assembly by defeating his PDP opponent, Terhemen Hon, in Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly polls.

    Announcing the results on Tuesday in Makurdi, the Returning Officer for the constituency, Mr Amokaha Aboho, said Hembe scored 50,818 votes to defeat Hon with 27,289 votes.

    Aboho said the number of registered voters for the constituency was 188,693; accredited voters, 89,776; valid votes, 81,915 while rejected votes were 2,471.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Hembe first won the election in 2007 on the platform of the PDP but defected to APC.

  • Benue: Suswam, Akume, Gemade promise to accept results

    Benue: Suswam, Akume, Gemade promise to accept results

    FEARING possible breakdown of law and order following the outcome of the National Assembly election in Benue State, contestants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have promised to accept elections’ results in good faith.

    It started when APC candidate for Benue Northeast Senatorial District, Senator Barnabas Gemade, visited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Makurdi for senatorial election’s result.

    The result ought to have been announced at the district office, Katsina Ala.

    Gemade, a serving senator, who defected to APC from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said he won convincingly, but  other contestants were not satisfied with the outcome.

    He spoke to reporters after a brief meeting with the State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Istifanus Dafwang, early yesterday morning.

    Gemade said the declaration of the result of the National Assembly election was transferred to the INEC headquarters as a result of reported threats of violence in the area.

    He said: “I’m here to receive my result because the collation of the senatorial district in Benue Northeast Senatorial District has been brought to Makurdi.

    “This is because the atmosphere in Katsina Ala was not conducive. Therefore, INEC ordered that all the various local governments should bring all the collated results to Makurdi and that’s why I’m here.

    “There were threats that the  office (collation centre) would be burnt down. I don’t know who was threatening, but there were threats against us in two local governments – Logo and Kanshisha local government areas.

    “In fact, two offices were actually burnt. But luckily enough, the results were already taken out before the offices were burnt down.

    “I won the election absolutely; very clear. But somehow, it appears that the losers are not quite happy and are chasing the wind to cause commotion and destruction.”

    But, appearing later with Gemade and Senator George Akume after meeting with the REC few hours later, Governor Gabriel Suswam said he was at the INEC headquarters to lodge complaints over some irregularities during the polls.

    He, however, promised to accept the outcome of the election as presented by the electoral body.

    Saying election should not be a do-or-die, the governor implored other contestants to accept the result in good faith.

    On his part, the Senate Minority Leader, who also won his senatorial district election, reiterated his trust in the governor to abide by the rule of law.

    Akume assured that being a lawmaker, he would not take the law into his own hands over the outcome of the election.

    Gemade also assured that he was ready to accept the election result as released by INEC.

    The three contestants left the premises after some exchange of pleasantries and back-slapping.

     

  • Bloodbath in Benue

    • Has the federal government abandoned farmer-cattle Fulani crisis

    In the unending wars between the Fulani herdsmen in the North and farmers, another bloodbath was witnessed in Benue State on March 15, when about 70 suspected Fulani herdsmen reportedly slaughtered 95 people, most of them women and children, in Egba Aguta Local Government Area of the state. A survivor, simply identified as Oche, said that the herdsmen stormed the village between 5am and 6am and started attacking people.

    They came with arrows, locally made guns and knives to attack the people, most of whom were still sleeping. The herdsmen then escaped to Nasarawa State. Oche, who could not give the number of those wounded in the attack, said he “believed that those wounded are between 95 and 100 as I counted up to 80 bodies being taken away by people in uniform. Most of those slaughtered were women, children and the aged. Almost all the houses in the community were razed by the attackers”.

    Although the state police commissioner, Hyacinth Dagala, who confirmed the attack had directed the area commander to ensure that adequate security is provided to the area, we see this directive as belated. Deadly attacks by Fulani herdsmen in Benue State have become a recurring decimal. On February 11, about 30 people were feared killed, apart from those who sustained varying degrees of injuries, in the Logo LGA of the same state when some Fulani herdsmen allegedly attacked and sacked over 24 communities and villages in the area, some of which are said to be only four kilometres away from Anyin, the country home of Governor Gabriel Suswam.

    For the umpteenth time, we state that security matters should be taken seriously all over the country, especially in volatile areas in the Northeast and North central parts of the country. Lack of effective security in these areas has largely been responsible for the havoc wreaked by Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast and parts of North central, and the abduction of over 270 school children in Chibok. It is therefore no surprise that the Fulani herdsmen have always succeeded in killing people in the area with considerable ease and with impunity.

    Our security personnel must curb what has become a blood-thirstiness of the Fulani herdsmen by taking proactive actions  to preempt attacks rather than reacting after the fact. We also understand that the Fulani are sometimes provoked by the people who rustle and steal their cattle.

    We opine that this carnage has gone on for too long for the government to take some decisive action to find solution. We think it is only an irresponsible government that would look on helplessly while her citizens are slaughtered in such large numbers at every turn.

    Apart from beefing up security and intelligence gathering, the federal government working in conjunction with the affected state governments, must speedily bring fresh ideas to bear on cattle rearing in the country.  Normadic cattle rearing is not peculiar to Nigeria; we must borrow a leave from other countries on how they solved similar problems.

    Sending relief materials to the survivors in affected areas of attack is medicine after death. The police and the military should wake up to their tasks of securing these areas, and prevent further attacks on innocent people in the future by gathering intelligence on the activities of the Fulani herdsmen to curb their penchant for frequent killings of innocent people. We say enough is enough!

  • Benue Northeast: Suswam, Gemade battle for Senate

    Benue Northeast: Suswam, Gemade battle for Senate

    In Benue Northeast District, the die is cast between Governor Gabriel Suswam, the senatorial candidate of the  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Senator Barnabas Gemade, who is running on the platform of the All Progressives Congress ( APC ). UJA EMMANUEL examines the preparations for the poll and the chances of the aspirants.

    The senatrial election in the Benue Northeast District promises to be a battle of titans. The contest is between Governor Gabriel Suswam of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the former National Chairman of the party, Chief Barnabas Gemade, who is contesting on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The two personalities are political heavyweights. Governor Suswam is fondly called the “Civilian General“ by his political associates.

    Since he joined politics in 1999, he has never lost a contest.In 1999, he  contested for the House of Representatives in Ukum/Logo/Katsina Ala Constituency  and won. In 2003, he was elected for a second term. Not satisfied with the outcome of the election, his opponent, Mamud Akiga, challenged it at the tribunal. But, Suswam won at the Appeal Court in Jos.

    Suswam contested for governor in 2007 as a lawmaker and won. He was re-lected in 2011. After the 2011 elections, he faced a protracted litigation.  The candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Prof. Steven Ugbah, backed by Senator George Akume, gave him a run for his money. He pursued the matter from the tribunal to the Appeal Court.

    Now, Suswam has set his eyes on the Benue Northeast senatorial seat. The seat is currently occupied by the APC candidate.

    Going by his antecedents, Suswam is not likely to give up easily. His body language suggests that he is determined to take over the seat, using the advantage of being the incumbent governor. He had used the incumbency factor to defeat Gemade at the party primaries, before the latter defected to the APC to pursue his ambition of returning to the Upper Chamber.

    This is the sentiment being field by Suswam’s political bloc, the Sankera, which controls three out of the five local governments in the district.

    Suswan is expected to receive massive votes from the zone and his foot soldiers would work for additional votes in the other two local government areas: Kwande/Ushongo and Konshisha/Vandeikya. This, according to observers, puts Gemade at a disadvantage.

    As a result, Suswam has a better chance of defeating his opponent. But, politics is no Mathematics; particularly as his main challenger is also an experienced politician.

    Gemade came to limelight as the Mnanaging Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Benue Cement Company( BCC), now known as Dangote Cement Gboko,Benue State.

    Since then, he has never looked back. At the time he was in-charge of BCC, the company was at its peak of production with almost 100 trailers on three shift production. This is a record no other chief executive of the company has beaten.

    He was appointed Secretary of Works. Later, the late General Sani Abacha regime  appointed him chairman of CNC.

    He became the National Chairman of the PDP during the Obasanjo era and later, a member of the Board of Trustee (BOT). He was a founding member of the party .

    Gemade is not new to political contest. In 2007, he contested for the Benue Northeast seat against Joseph Akaageger, but the election was inconclusive. However, events in Benue South, where Gen. David Mark was squaring up against Gen. Lawrence Onoja, compelled President Obasanjo to declare Mark winner. Akaagerger, who was set for a second ballot against Gemade, became a beneficiary by default.

    But, in 2011, Gemade defeated Akaagerger, who latter picked the defunct ACN ticket and again lost to Gemade at the general election.

    During the build up to the PDP senatorial primaries. Gemade cried foul. He said Suswam has manipulated the process against him. After a series of petitions and complaints at the PDP National Secretariat, Gemade dumped the party for the APC, where he subsequently contested the party’s senatorial primaries.

    During the APC campaign flag-off in Zakibiam, Gemade told his supporters that he is capable of defeating Suswam in a free and fair contest.

    Suswam has asked the people of Benue Northeast District to evaluate his performance as a federal lawmaker and governor.

    The governor also told his audience during local government election in Wannune that any time he sets his eyes on anything, he goes for it and makes sure that he gets it.

  • ‘95 villages displaced in Benue’

    The member representing Agatu in the Benue State House of Assembly, Alhaji Sule Audu, has said about 95 communities have been displaced since the attacks in the state.

    Audu, who yesterday addressed reporters in Makurdi on Sunday’s attack, said over 20,000 persons have been rendered homeless.

    He said: “Since the invasion of the Fulani herdsmen in May 2013, about 95 villages in Agatu have been displaced. Only left is the council headquarters, Obagaji and four others, which have become congested.”

    Speaking on the latest attack, Audu said the invaders were in military uniform with army protective jacket, adding that they could have trekked from a long  distance to get to Egba village.

    “We were shocked at the manner they came because the village they attacked was about 10km to the river through which they crossed to Egba. Some of the villages around were attacked in the past.”

    The lawmaker urged the Federal Government to deploy the Joint Task Force (JTF) personnel to tighten security in the borders in Nasarawa and Kogi states.

     

  • Benue APC condemns attacks

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State has condemned the attacks by Fulani herdsmen, which left over a hundred people dead and scores injured.

    In a statement, the party’s Secretary, Onov Tyuulugh, decried acts of insurgency, saying if the country must remain one, the rights of the communities to peace and tranquility must be respected.

    He lamented that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration of Governor Gabriel Suswam had not given communal crises the deserved attention, as he had never sat down to look at the causes of the crises and address them.

    The APC chieftain said Suswam was too much on the move to give security and governance generally the attention they deserved.

    Tyuulugh advised him to address the clashes between Fulani herdsmen and Benue communities so that a solution could be found to the problem.

    He attributed the crisis to the clueless leadership of the PDP and advised the Benue people to guarantee their safety by voting out the PDP.

    The secretary said APC had a credible leadership to stamp out insurgency and guarantee Nigerians peace and security of life and property.

     

  • Benue workers shun offices

    Civil servants in Benue State have shunned offices, following the non-payment of their salary in the last six months.

    Traders have cried out for lack of patronage.

    Investigations by The Nation showed that primary school teachers are the worst hit, as they are owed five months’ salary without any hope. Although there was an announcement on the state-owned radio that Governor Gabriel Suswam ordered that their salary should be paid.

    When our correspondent visited the state secretariat, most of the offices were empty. Those who reported for duty were idling away in parks and gardens, discussing the hardship caused by the non-payment of salary.

    A civil servant, who works with the Ministry of Agriculture, Comrade Paul Omale, said his two children had been sent away from school because he had not paid their fees, adding that he was finding it difficult to feed his family.

    He said he had parked his vehicle and resorted to trekking because he could not afford petrol sold at N105 per litre.

    Mrs. Torkwase Ugoh said she could not afford the transport fare of N100, hence she decided to stay at home until her salary was paid.

    At the Ministry of Land and Survey, civil servants plucked unripe mangoes and ate them as breakfast.

    They said the non-payment of their salaries for almost six months had made life unbearable for them and their families.

    Beer parlour operators complained of low patronage.

    The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Godwin Anya, debunked a report that teachers had been paid, saying government owed them five months’ salary.

    A teacher in LGEA Primary School, Ayilamo, Tombo Ward, Mrs. Ukeyima Ucha, said Governor Suswam did not mean well for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Prince Terhemen Tarzor, if he owed salary.

    “Suswam wants Tarzor to succeed him, but he has forgotten that the best campaign for Tarzor is for the PDP-led administration to pay workers’ salary. Election is near and people will reject an administration that does not pay civil servants,” Mrs. Ucha said.

    A government source, who preferred anonymity, told The Nation that the shortfall from the federal allocation and fall in oil prices caused the delay in the payment of salary.

     

     

  • 50 protesting JAMB candidates arrested

    The Benue Police Command on Monday arrested 50 candidates of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for violent protests and stoning of security officials.

    The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Hyacinth Dagala, said the police intervened to prevent breakdown of law and order when the candidates started throwing stones at JAMB officials.

    According to him, the stones injured one of the security guards and a police officer attached to the office.

    “The candidates numbering over 300 today approached the JAMB Zonal Office in Makurdi and demanded their printouts.

    “The Jamb officials pleaded with them to come back after one hour for their Jamb slips, but that they refused and started throwing stones at the officials and security operatives.

    “They injured one police officer, a security guard and some women who were selling food around the office and also burnt tyres on the road,” the commissioner said.

    Dagala said the police rushed to the scene and arrested 50 of the protesters in order to calm the situation