By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
A Concerned Nigerian forum, under the name OnTiv Professional Association in Abuja have condemned the recent call by the Idoma extraction in Benue State on President Tinubu to sack of Senator George Akume as the Secretary to the Federal Government, SGF.
OnTiv association have urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to turn deaf ears to such baseless calls.
Elder statesman, Chief Audu Ogbeh and the Coalition of Idoma Professionals called for sack of Sen. George as the new SGF over what they described as marginalization of the Idoma tribe by the present administration.
They argued that after the appointment of Senator Akume, a Tiv man as SGF, another Tiv man was presented for screening as minister, which they termed marginalising the Idoma tribe.
President of OPA, Engr. Abraham Aku, who addressed newsmen over the weekend, said that such cry is a continuous mischief against the Tiv people.
“It should be noted that in ensuring fair co-existence, no Tiv person has ever raised objection to the appointment of an Idoma person rather, we have always supported such appointments even when they did not go the way we expected.”
We have ensured that there is sharing of political offices in Benue State; not minding their dominance at the Federal level is fairly done.
“Our Idoma brothers do not seem to appreciate our tolerance, this is worrisome and mischievous.”
“We had intended to keep quite especially to the calls for to sack Senator George Akume by some Idoma elders claiming to be stakeholders of the Idoma race led by Chief Audu Ogbeh.”
” While we had wished to let go this malicious call as one of their continuous mischief against the Tiv people, just few days ago an Idoma lady refused her nomination to serve in Fr. Hycinth Allia’s government.”
” This is blackmail against the Tiv people to curry sympathy for the sack of Senator George Akume as Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”
“Senator David Mark was President of the Senate for eighteen uninterrupted years, he had the full backing of the Tiv people, Senator Abba Morro was appointed a Minister, the current Deputy Governor of Benue State Mr Sam Ode was a Minister while Jerry Agada a Permanent Secretary. No Tiv person wrote a petition calling for the sack of them.”, he stated.
OPA further further argued that a person who rose through his civil service career to the rank of Permanent Secretary, became a two-term Executive Governor of the State and rose to become a Distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria before serving as an Honourable Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria not be fit and proper person to hold the Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation?
“Is a person who had united his people and mobilized his party, the APC to take over power from a sitting government in his state and recorded an almost 100% victory in two Zones his people occupy not suitable for reward? Can one rightly and courageously maintain that His Excellency, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, GCFR, Commander-In-Chief of Armed Forces has erred in the appointment of Senator George Akume as Secretary to the Government of the Federation following his contribution to the party as well as his demonstrated capacity over the years?
Our answer is that anyone who holds this view is mischievous and up to create unnecessary friction in the ranks of the Benue people and the APC structure in the state, OPA reasoned.
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