The Zone C people of Benue state under the auspicious of Benue Rebirth Movement have appealed to all stakeholders in the state to give them the opportunity to occupy the Benue peoples House Makurdi, come 2023.
Speaking at a press conference in Jos, Plateau State, the spokesperson of the group General Geoffrey Ejiga (Rtd) along side the National Coordinator Air Vice Marshall Monday Morgan, Prof. Ochakpa Onazi and many other stakeholders, said for fairness, the zone should be given the opportunity to govern the state.
According to the group the press conference was to add support to the agitation of an earlier movement that took to the streets of Benue last year to meet political leaders, youths and traditional rulers to solicit for an opportunity for the southern zone which is inhabited by Idoma people to produce the next governor in 2023.
They cited an example of rotation with Plateau, Cross River, Delta, Edo and other States who are benefiting and developing every parts of their states as a result of the rotation.
The spoke person said the BRM has talked widely amongst Tiv and other tribes of Benue State as the late Och’Idoma had visited the Tor Tiv and pleaded that the Tor Tiv should speak to his children to give the governorship to them which he responded positively.
Aside that, they also visited political stakeholders like Governor Samuel Ortom, Dr. Ayu, Dr. George Akume, Chief Gabriel Suswan and Chief Barnabas Gemande among many others all of whom encouraged them to go and consult widely with Benue people.
Gen. Ejiga (rtd) said as part of the consultation, he led a team to the retired military, paramilitary where he organized a luncheon for them and told them of the purpose of the visit, but to his shocked by their response which they claimed “the Tiv people are not ready to hand over the governorship position to Idoma people in any foreseeable future” he added.
He said the action by the Tiv political leaders in Benue state is creating great unhappiness, inferiority complex and despair in Idoma land.
However, the movement commended the Tiv people in general, saying they have been good neighbours to the Idoma people through the ages. Adding that there is hope coming from the youths of the Tiv land who are beginning to question why the Idoma people cannot be anything in the state.
Present at the press conference, were members of the BRM who are not Idoma and the spoke man confirmed that many Tiv youths are also parts of the movement where they are challenging their political leaders to explain the position of an Idoma not becoming governor of the state.
It will be recalled that since the return of democracy in Nigeria, Benue South senatorial zone which is Zone C has not produce either governor or speaker of the state Assembly, situation the zone C people are not happy with hence, the agitation for an Apa State during the nation’s Constitution Review process last year in Jos and the clamouring for the governorship come 2023.