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Tag: Benue

  • My agenda for Benue, by governorship aspirant

    My agenda for Benue, by governorship aspirant

     Former Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly Hon. David Iorhemba is a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant. He spoke with Uja Emmanuel on the succession battle in the Northcentral state.

    Why do you want to govern Benue State in 2015?

    I am eminently qualified to govern the state on the platform of the PDP. For some reasons, I consider myself very versatile in the affairs of the state.   I  am conversant with the three arms of government. I worked in the Benue State judiciary for 21 years. I was a  clerk, registrar, court member, area court Judge and Chief Magistrate in Gboko before I resigned. I later went into private legal practice. I was appointed Senior Special Assistant to the Benue State governor on Legal Matters. Thereafter, I resigned, contested and won a by-election, following the death of Hon. Yogbo, who represented Guma Constituency. I re-contested in 2011 and won. I became the Speaker. With these experiences, I have been exposed  to the challenges of the state. I’m therefore, conversant with the rural setting of the state, based on my postings as a judiciary staff. I served at the Area Court, Agasha, Abinsi. I was the Court Registrar in Udei, Naka, Aliade, Makurdi, Area Court in Korinya, Ihugh, Lessel, Ikyado; Area Gourt Judge at Ammaafu, Acting Area Court Judge at Akpagher Mbatyav, Magistrate at Vandeikya and ant back to Gboko.

    With these experiences, I have discovered that the major problem of the state is rural development. Take a look at the case of Guma Local Government Area, Gbajumba is the only local government headquarters in Benue State that does not have a tarred road linking it with Makurdi. I will contribute my quota to the development of the state by providing roads. Rural farmers will be able to transport their produce to urban markets to improve their financial standing. When rural roads are opened, security challenges, education sector and others are addressed. Those of us living in border towns such as Guma, near Nasarawa State, are usually attacked by  mercenaries from Nasarawa State with the use of motor cycles. They come through bush paths to attack us. But, due to poor road network, it becomes difficult to fight back and, even when security operatives are alerted, they hardly make impact as a result of the bad terrain.

    Some of the schools set up by the SUBEB in 1976 have  no structure because contractors are unable to access the sites due to lack of roads. So, the provision of roads in rural communities can boost education and agriculture. Today, farmers don’t have value for their produce because they cannot take them to the market.Therefore, if elected in 2015, I will make sure we have a law to establish the Benue State Produce Marketing Board to regulate the sale and purchase farm produce and eliminate activities of middle men. Benue as an agrarian state used to witnessed food wastage and this is why the establishment of cottage industry is apt at this moment. I appreciate the efforts of the Benue state government, which established a tomato fruit juice at Annune. But, it is not functioning. Government should lease the company out to a competent people to manage and create employment. I will provide storage facility so that farmers will have value for their produce.

    Recently, the Tiv Traditional Council advised some aspirants to step down. What is your reaction?

    It does not deter some of us from pursuing our aspiration at all. We feel that the Tiv Area Traditional Council, coming in at this stage, was rather too early. Beside this, the process that led to the purported trimming was also not a proper one. This is because the Tor Tiv and other traditional rulers, who constituted that panel, are fathers to all of us and we feel that, after interacting with us, they should have allowed aspirants a little time to also interact with one another more so that we are aspiring to get nomination on a party platform. But, at the moment, the PDP has not released the guidelines. It may be that the chosen ones may even be caught out with the party guidelines. I feel strongly that the party guidelines will catch up with some of the aspirants  selected by the Tiv Area Traditional Council. So, on the whole, I’m forging ahead with my consultation. You can see that, in 2007, the Sankera leaders met in Katsina -Ala Local Government to pick their preferred aspirants.  Katsina -Ala elders chose Prof. Iorwuese Hagher. Ukum local government produced Prof. Mvendaga Jibo and Logo local government produced the late  Biishibi Ati. But, it happened that all the nominees from these three local governments did not make it at the primaries. Rather, Gabriel Suswam, who was not nominated at all, got the ticket and became the governor.   So, I feel that the trimming was not done in good faith and the forum of Minda PDP aspirants has contacted our chairman, Prof. David Ker to state our position on the matter.

    How do you intend to tackle the challenge of industrialisation?

    If elected, I intend to run industries through Public Private Partnership (PPP). Most of the farm produce are located in a particular area of the state. Yams are largely produced in Ukum, Logo and Katsina-Ala local government areas. Therefore, my government will invite a competent company to come and partner with the government. Government will provide land and put up structures while the intended company with expertise in citing a yam flower will come in and do the rest. We will move to Ushongo, Vandeikya and Konshisha local government areas where oranges abound and establish a factory there and even liaise with Chivita, one of the major fruit producers ,to come and operate it.

    How do intend to open up local government areas stem rural/urban drift?

    The government, in conjunction with the twenty three local government councils, will procure earth moving equipments so that each council will have it. Graders, pay loaders and  tippers will ease their work.  For example, if Vandeikya Local Government decides to construct a road from Chi Mbagbera to Adambge Mbayongu, the council will provide the diesel and the operators and the community will render essential services. I am going to decentralise the Ministry of Rural Development, which will be saddled with the role of supervising ongoing projects. This is because this ministry has been unable to supervise rural development in most, if not all the areas.

    Given the shortfall in the allocation to the state from the Federation Account, how would you jerk up the internally generated revenue? There is a lot of internal revenue that are untapped in the state. First, I will bring revenue consultants to take an inventory of houses in Benue State. We will provide a template. All the houses located on a particular street will be numbered and government will try to find out how one acquires the land, whether it was through traditional means or it was through agreement, through purchase, by allocation, whether one have the C of O or not. Therefore, a special account will be opened for owners to pay ground rent. Through this, government will generate revenue from it. Government will obtain a bank facility to maintain such streets while banks will be made to live up to its corporate social responsibility. The registration of motor cycles plate numbers will also give us money and many other sources like bill boards will be taped from. We will reorganise the Revenue Board for better performance.

    What is your concept of Makurdi  Master Plan?

    The original master plan of Makurdi, which is the state capital, is highly distorted. Beside, development has caught up with it. One of the ways to solve the problem is to open up streets.

  • Two killed, 10,000 displaced in Benue

    Two persons have been killed and 10,000 displaced at Dzev in Shangev-Ya District of Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State by suspected youths from Mbakyaa kindred.

    Among the deceased was a woman, who was already bedridden in one of the clinics in the crisis- ridden community and a young man, who was shot in the stomach.

    Police spokesman Daniel Ezeala, who confirmed the incident, said peace had been restored, following a stakeholders’ meeting in Adikpo at the weekend.

  • Benue workers begin strike tomorrow over deduction

    Public servants in Benue State will begin an indefinite strike tomorrow over the deduction of their monthly salary.

    But there are rumours that the Head of Service, Terna Ahua, has resigned.

    The joint negotiation council voted in favour of a strike after a marathon meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Makurdi on Monday.

    Workers in the public service have been at war with Governor Gabriel Suswam following his decision to cut their salaries to enable him pay primary school teachers, who have been on a prolonged strike over the non-implementation of the National Minimum Wage.

    The workers rejected the proposal to cut down their salaries. But 15 per cent was deducted from their July pay.

    The workers convened an emergency meeting and voted to go on strike tomorrow.

    Rumours that Mr Tena Ahud may have resigned followed the governor’s decision to reduce workers salarý.

    The head of Service refused to respond his calls or text messages.

     

  • Certificate forgery: I will punish Kakih, says Suswam

    Certificate forgery: I will punish Kakih, says Suswam

    Governor Gabriel Suswam has said he will ensure that Terver Kakih ,who leveled allegations of certificate forgery against him is punished.

    This he said would serve as deterrent to others who may contemplate such action.

    Reacting to the Supreme Court judgement which dismissed the forgery case brought against him by Terver Kakih, Governor Suswam said he has already instructed his lawyer to institute a legal action against Terver Kakih.

    He stated that he will get the court to punish Kakih for trying to smear his name saying petition written in Tiv has become a recurrent decimal .

    “They did it to minority rights crusader, the late Joseph Tarkaa and to the second republic governor Aper Aku”, but he is “determined to put a stop to such  wicked actions by Tiv people”.

    Meanwhile, the publisher of Power Sterling Magazine, Mr. Tom Oga Ohia has been detained at Police Force headquarters Abuja.

    His detention is not unconnected with the certificate forgery allegation which he published against Governor Gabriel Suswam and considered by the police to be injurious falsehood.

    The Nation gathered that the police are acting on the instruction of Governor Suswam who was cleared by the Supreme Court last week and his determined to seek redress .

  • Benue CJ praises agency’s contribution to justice reform

    The Chief Judge of Benue State and the state’s Solicitor General (SG) wn case in full and that he will be denied the right to fair hearing. For this reason, this application cannot sail through. Consequently, it is accordinglyand Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice,  Justice Iorhemen Hwande and Mrs Christy Anageende have praised the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) over its support in enhancing reform in the state’s justice sector.

    They spoke at the recent action planning workshop for the Benue State’s justice sector held in Makurdi by the UNODC under the “Support to the Justice Sector in Nigeria” project funded by the European Union (EU).

    The state’s CJ, who was represented by Justice Aondover Kaka’an said EU and UNODC’s support is uplifting the judiciary and enhancing the quick delivery of justice in Benue State.

    UNODC’s Outreach and Communications Officer, James Ayodele in a statement, quoted the Benue CJ as saying “UNODC supported us in establishing the Judicial Research Center (JRC), and with the resources in the center the judges are able to access information that will enhance their work and help them dispense justice without delay.

    “Due to the implementation of the action plan drawn up in 2008 with support from UNODC, we have increased pro bono services to individuals who cannot afford the services of a lawyer and this has enhanced smooth hearing of cases by the courts and reduced the number of awaiting trial inmates in prisons,” he said.

    Ayodele also quoted  Mrs Anageende as saying “I know the importance of this work planning workshop and I want to appreciate the efforts of the European Union and UNODC. I have no doubt that Benue State will benefit immensely from this workshop and the project.”

    The focal person for the EU-UNODC justice project in the state, Justice Polycarp Kwahar said “some of the reforms we included in the 2008 work plan looked impossible. For instance, the establishment of the JRC; it was capital intensive, but with the support of EU and UNODC and the effort of the Chief Judge we were able to establish it.”

    The National Project Officer Justice Sector Reform at UNODC, Mrs Ugonna Ezekwem, said Benue State is particularly important to the EU and UNODC because of its outstanding performance during the last EU-funded project implemented in the state.

    “A lot of the reforms implemented in Benue State with support from EU-UNODC during the previous justice sector reform project have been sustained and the activities in the 2008 action plan are still being implemented, so we are very happy to be back here to advance these reforms.

    “Action planning will encourage the justice sector in supported states to plan strategically for reforms and to monitor and evaluate their performance over a period of time,” Mrs Ezekwem said.

    Ayodele explained that under the EU funded project, UNODC is supporting the development and implementation of state-level action plans for justice sector reforms in nine states and the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria.

  • Re: Rapists, Cultists Lay Siege to Benue varsity

    The attention of the Benue State University Management has been drawn to a publication in the Campus Life pull out of The Nation Newspaper of Thursday June 19, 2014.

    In the said report, one Msonter Anzaa, whom we discovered is a medical student of the university, spuriously alleged that rapists and cultists have laid siege on the university.

    For the avoidance of doubt and in order to put the records straight, management wishes to once again state in unequivocal terms that:

    • When this false and malicious report was first published in the Nigerian Tribune Newspaper of May 28, 2014, authorities of the University carried out a thorough and incisive investigation but found no iota of truth in the report.

    • Similarly, the Benue State Police Command through the State Commissioner, Mr. Adams Audu, also corroborated the position of management on the said report in a widely published press statement on the same day it was published in The Tribune.

    • That the rumour was put to rest but the author found it a topic for his contribution to The Nation almost one month after it first appeared, speaks volumes about his real motive.

    • It is also noteworthy to point out that some of the alleged incidents in the report, according to the reporter, occurred out of the University Campus hence we view attempts to link such to the University Management or its security personnel as either mischievous or even libelous.

    •The author splashed a picture of a roofless structure in the story with a caption: “The Technical Hostel which was hit.”   Management wishes to state in clear terms that the said building is not of the University as its students are not kept in roofless hostels.

    • Ordinarily, management wouldn’t want to join issues with the author, but this clarification has become necessary so as to allay the fears of many and reinforce the confidence of all relevant stakeholders in the University.

    • We appreciate the innovative idea by The Nation and other print media which have availed students the space and opportunity to express themselves on happenings on the campuses. However, it is our candid view that operators of these media should take some of these reports with a pinch of salt as some of the contributors may be swimming in unfamiliar waters by the nature of their disciplines of studies.

    • Finally, we hope that our position as well as that of the Police Command, earlier stated, will serve as a caution against speculative journalism. More so that journalism, unlike law, is not an ass “everybody can ride.”

     

    Signed

    T. Tser Vanger, JP

    SAR/Information Officer

    For: Registrar

  • Rapists, cultists lay siege to Benue varsity

    Rapists, cultists lay siege to Benue varsity

    Rape and robbery cases are on the rise at the Benue State University (BSU) in Makurdi. Students are living in fear as rapists and cultists go on the rampage. The security unit appears helpless, reports MSONTER ANZAA .

    Within two weeks, after he began his medical programme at the Benue State University (BSU), Gabriel Idoko was robbed twice.

    The first happened on his first day in school, said Gabriel, who declined to give his real name.

    “I was coming back from class and I saw some people arguing with my roommate who is also a 100-Level student. I stopped to find out what was going on. They were armed with knives; they told me to give them everything I had in my wallet. It was N1,900. They ordered us to move to a corner and told us that they were members of the Black Axe cult group. They said they control the hostel and Wurukum area, threatening to kill us if we shouted,” Gabriel, who described the incident as a “welcome-to-campus package”, narrated.

    The following week, Gabriel was robbed again. “I did not have any money with me this time. They asked me to remove my SIM Card and bring my phone. They told me to bring N1,000 later to them if I needed my phone. When I got the money, I called them, but they said I should forget about the phone because they could not remember my face again,” he said.

    In the last three months, the school has been under a siege of sorts, raising fear among students whose academic pursuits are being threatened.

    Last March, a 100-Level student of Educational Foundation was dispossessed of his money by three hoodlums as he headed for his off-campus residence opposite the second gate of the university. The incident happened behind the Dunamis International Gospel Centre, where many students live.

    CAMPUSLIFE investigation showed that the hoodlums operate in the open. Students living in Wurukum area know them, but they are afraid of reporting them for fear of being killed. The hoodlums, who are said to be students, dispossess many of their valuables while returning from night reading.

    A student, who did not give his name, said: “The activities of the cultists have turned to a normal thing on the campus. If you are passing by, you need to watch out to greet them; if you don’t, they will attack you on your way back. At times, when somebody greets them, they would say he did not greet them properly. They intimidated one of my classmates. If you are going home, you take a less-valuable phone with you, in case they attack you. Some of them even follow you to your room and insist that you must give them something.”

    On why the matter has not been reported to the security unit, Monday Aadonka, said students are terrified of the hoodlums. “If they find out anyone reported them, they will kill the person. The boys are notorious and they will hear everything you say about them. If you say you will pursue them, you are the one to lose because they don’t know why they are in school; so they have all the time to stress your life. We call their hostel a “slaughter house”, but they don’t stay there every day. They sleep around. Half of the people staying in Wurukum are cultists.”

    On May 9, two female students of Preliminary Science were attacked by the hoodlums. One was shot on the cheek and could not talk for days. One of the victims, who spoke to this reporter on her sickbed, pleaded that her identity be concealed for security reasons.

    She said: “My classmate and I went to read in the school auditorium. When it was 10pm, we left the hall for our hostels. We wanted to pass through the first gate to take a shortcut adjacent to the security office when we saw two guys coming towards us. One of them was putting on a blue shirt and the other wore black. We thought they were going to read on the campus. A few metres away, we heard a bang. We did not know that we had been shot.

    “All I could remember was that, I fell on the ground. They took our bags and everything we had with us. It was the Students’ Union Government (SUG) Vice President, who took us to the security office. We were bleeding profusely. I was taken to the school clinic where I stayed for three days. My classmate could not talk for three days. I am yet to get over the incident. We later heard the criminals went to the auditorium to inform students that we had been shot.”

    She was not sure if what happened was a robbery or murder attempt. “If it was robbery, the criminals would have approached us and dispossessed us of our valuables, at least, without shooting us. But they did not. They shot us first before taking our bags. We don’t know their motive,” she said.

    Students are frequently dispossessed of their valuables in the off-campus hostels opposite the university. CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the criminals target students returning to their hotels in the late hours after reading.

    However, it is not only off-campus students that are affected. The hoodlums also operate on campus.

    Last month, CAMPUSLIFE gathered, a female student was raped around 7:30pm in Lecture Room 10. It was learnt that the incident occurred during a rainstorm. Students that were reading rushed back to their hostels. In the melee, some hoodlums dragged the victim back and raped her in the lecture hall.

    A source said: “The victim was shouting for help but no one could go to her rescue because of the rain. The handkerchief and the tissue paper the rapists used littered the floor.”

    Another victim, a 200-Level student of Accounting, was allegedly raped in the Staff Quarters, where she lives with her uncle.

    On May 26, Block F in the Technical Female Hostel was invaded by hoodlums at 3am. They robbed occupants in Rooms 1 to 3 of laptops and phones. The incident led to a protest by the girls, prompting a visit by the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Charity Angya.

    “The VC was very bitter, because she was not told about the cases of rape and robbery on the campus. She brought an engineer to install iron doors in the hostel. The installation has been going on since then,” an occupant told CAMPUS LIFE.

    Three days later, Block D Hostel was attacked. Occupants, however, escaped with their phones and handbags.

    Penultimate week, the hoodlums hit Block C in the Technical Female Hostel at 1am.

    A 100-Level Mass Communication student, who witnessed the incident, said; “The robbers hid in a bathroom in Block E, which they initially wanted to rob. But the occupants were still awake and making noise. So, the robbers left and went to Block C. Two of them came from the back door and the other two from the entrance at the common room.

    “A student caught them in the common room and rushed back to her room. She used her cupboard to block the door. The doors are not strong; one can kick them open. They tried pushing her door open but they could not, so they moved to other rooms. Another girl saw the two from the back door and blocked her room’s door with her bunk. She alerted other occupants, screaming “men in the hostel”. Everyone who heard the shout woke up and blocked their doors. Those that were not fast enough were robbed.”

    The students said the robbers were armed with knives and guns. They were chased by male students in nearby hostels

    It was learnt that distress calls were sent to the school security personnel, but there was no response. The security men came after students chased away the hoodlums.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that no student was raped in the hostel.

    “Nobody was raped. They only collected phones and laptops. I don’t know where the rape story came from,” an occupant told our correspondent.

    Students are lamenting the security situation, saying it is affecting their academic pursuit.

    The Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof Armstrong Adejo, declined comment. He told our correspondent to speak with the Registrar.

  • Help us develop Gboko

    GBOKO is a very important town in Benue State. It is a town populated by Nigerians from different parts of the country. Foreigners always visit the place because of its historical significance.

    Apart from all these, the Tiv are proud of the town because it is their ancestral home. They love the place, and this fact is not hidden.

    But Gboko cannot be regarded a developed town. It lacks modern facilities. The Tiv are not happy with this situation.

    This is why I am calling on Governor Gabriel Suswam to do something urgently about the town. People will not forget him, if he gives the place a facelift which all Tiv are eager to see.

     

    Jato James,

    Gboko, Benue State.

  • Orphaned, homeless in Benue

    Orphaned, homeless in Benue

    They are probably the worst-hit in the Fulani-Tiv crisis in Benue State. How young they are; some only five years old; others between two and three. At that age, they need the love and care of their parents, but many of them have none. Some have just one of their parents alive. But one thing is certain: all are victims of the needless conflict between Fulani herdsmen and farmers.

    Their villages were attacked and set ablaze by the herdsmen. Some were lucky to escape with their parents; some others were killed. The survivors are now homeless, to boot.

    Like kids everywhere, they play football with other displaced peers and even manage to cook for themselves. Watching them run around kicking football, you wonder how much they know of what the future holds for them.

    For three months, these orphans lived on alms and donations from good-spirited individuals, who visit and donate foodstuff for their upkeep.

    Primary school blocks have become their temporary home, no thanks to the long primary school teachers strike embarked upon to press home their demand for the National Minimum Wage.

    The orphans squat on the bare floor. They are also vulnerable to typhoid fever and other diseases.

    Where will they go? Who will care for them?

    The Fulani-Tiv crisis has claimed many lives.

    How long will they find shelter in those primary school buildings?

    When The Nation visited the St Mary Primary School camp, which accommodates over 150 children, most of the orphans were seen playing freely like other children.

    Terna Uzenda, who spoke to The Nation in Tiv is three years old from Guma Local Government Area, said he could not explain what happened and how he found himself living outside his home.

    Uzenda said that he got to know of Fulani attacks on their ancestral home through those who visit the camps and donate relief materials.

    He said through some people from the same village with him, he got to know that Fulani herdsmen shot and killed his parents.

    He said he didn’t know where to  go but he admitted being very sure that God was in control and would see through the journey of his life.

    For another five-year-old orphan, Terzungwu Uzua, told The Nation he was a Primary 4 pupil in Ayilamo, Tombo ward, Logo Local Government Area in Benue, before Fulani militia stormed his community and killed his parents.

    Uzua stated that  even though he lost his parents, his prayer is that God should bring those who carried out the act to justice.

    He also called on the Benue State government not to abandon them, urging the Suswam administration to keep supporting them in the camp and even after.

    For children in Daudu camp, Guma Local Government Area in the state, where the attacks were more devastating, Kaase Ugande, 4, and Peter Iormba, 6, told The Nation that without their parents  life has since lost its meaning and fulfilment. The Fulani onslaught has left them without hope and life will never be the same.

    Ugande and Iorba noted that the death of the parents and the burning of their home is a great setback in their education career.

    They said their ambition is to join the army and serve the country, but all hope is now dashed, though there is some glimmer of optimism that their elder brother would take up the role their parents would have played.

  • Displaced persons in Benue told to forgive their attackers

    Displaced persons in Benue told to forgive their attackers

    A Catholic priest in charge of St Francis Catholic Mission, Daudu, Benue State, Rev. Father Solomom Ukeyima has urged victims of Fulani attacks to forgive those who sacked them from their ancestral homes.

    Father Ukeyima admonished internally displaced persons to see their travails as a necessary cross they must bear, as Jesus Himself did.

    In his Easter sermon at St Mary Primary School, North Bank, Makurdi, where over 200 victims of Fulani attacks are taking refuge, the Catholic priest said they must learn to forgive their attackers even though they have been sacked, their relations killed, and driven away from their home.

    He said Easter is the feast of love and they must love and forgive one another.

    Father Ukeyima, who is also displaced from his mission in Daudu, due to the attacks, told the displaced that better things are coming after their temporary setback.

    Also speaking after the mass, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), representing Makurdi North in the House of Assembly, Hon. Avine Agbom appealed to Governor Gabriel Suswam to work towards the return of the displaced to their homes before the rains set in.

    Hon. Agbom said there are secret killings going on as farmers who attempt to get back to their farms are killed by Fulani militia.

    He called on soldiers deployed to Benue to protect the helpless farmers.

    Chairman Benue Network of Civil Societies, Mr Justine Gbagir urged the Benue State government to set up camps and care for the multitude of displaced persons affected by Fulani attacks.

    Gbagir, a lawyer, stated that the essence of governance is welfare and citizens have killed, their houses set ablaze and some have no place to sleep, yet government is doing nothing.

    He said asking the farmers to go back to their destroyed homes without giving them the necessary logistics to start life afresh is inhuman.

    The priest, in the spirit of Easter shared food for the displaced person who danced and sang.