Following the consistent killing of Tiv farmers in Obi, Awe and Doma Local Government Areas of Nasarawa State by suspected herdsmen, a coalition of Tiv communities in the state have decried the recent utterances of Governor Abdullahi Sule’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Peter Ahemba, over their plights.
Ahemba, who is also a Tiv man and former President of Tiv Development Association in the state had accused his kinsmen of exaggerating the security situation in the state despite the consistent attacks in their respective communities, among other issues.
Speaking during a press biefing in Lafia on Friday, leader of the Tiv groups, Boniface Iffer, cautioned Ahemba not to bring disrepute to Tiv people in the state simply because he intends maintaining his political appointment with the state government.
He said, “We are deeply worried at the current trend of events especially involving the unguarded utterances of a supposed one of us and one time President of the Tiv Development Association, Mr. Peter Ahemba, who was deposed for controversially handling the affairs of the association.
“Ordinarily, we would have preferred to maintain a dignified silence, but for the avoidance of doubt, Ahemba should not be seen as a representative of the Tiv people by dragging noble personalities into unnecessary disparaging for a pot of porridge just to earn a livelihood.
“Our concern is in his electing to tow a dangerous lane, including his dragging of the church and its clergies into dirty politics on an issue that is already in court between the parties. This is in difference to numerous calls for restraint and caution by our leaders and well-meaning individuals, including the State Security Service.
“It was this same Ahemba who was all over the news accusing Gov. Sule’s administration for turning a blank eye while 56 Tiv locals were being killed among several others in various LGAs across the state. He used the killing of Tiv people in Obi, Awe, Doma, and a host of other communities in Nasarawa State to campaign for the position he is occupying today.
“We have made several consultations with critical stakeholders and we resolved that the least we demand from him is a written apology and, a quick retraction of the insulting and blackmailing comments he made.
“He should hasten to apologize to the well-meaning leaders of thought in the state and the Tiv Community for such display of uncultured, unguided and excessive bunch of lies and other utterances in recent times to avoid being totally rejected by his kinsmen in Nasarawa state.”
Meanwhile, reacting to the development, the SSA to the Governor discarded the allegations leveled against him by the representatives and leader of the Tiv communities, while denying knowledge of their existence in the state.
He said, “I will not join issues with them. When I spoke, it was about government not about communities, so for anybody to reduce what we are doing as government to a community level to say the least, is mischievous. I don’t know them, so I am not bothered about whatever they said about me.”
