APC stakeholders ask FG to suspend allocations to Benue

Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State led by a former governor, Dr. George Akume, have asked the federal government to stop the release of allocations to the state.

The stakeholders also asked the local government chairmen who joined Governor Samuel Ortom and dumped the APC for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to vacate their seats or face legal action.

Sen. Akume who addressed newsmen at the weekend in Abuja, on behalf of 38 other stakeholders some of whom were present at the occasion, said the Ortom-led government has nothing to show for the “huge budgetary allocations” being paid to the state.

He accused the governor of recruiting militia to cause mayhem in the 2019 general election in order for him to win a second term.

But the Special Adviser on Media and ICT, to the governor, Tahav Agerzua, described the allegations as false, baseless and cheap blackmail, saying “Akume’s militia group perpetrated electoral violence in the state between 1999 and 2003” when he was governor.

Sen. Akume said, “we call on the Federal Ministry of Finance to as a matter of urgency cease the release of federation allocation to Benue State as it affects the 12 defected local government and the three councils whose chairmen have been suspended totalling 15 out of 23 local government councils in the state.

“The other 11 LG chairmen who refused to move with him (Ortom) to the PDP have suffered series of victimization by the governor. On Wednesday, September 12, 2018, the governor purportedly suspended three local government chairmen of Ogbadibo, Gwer-East and Vandeikya Local Government Councils.

“They were accused of gross misconduct and embezzlement of local government funds. These allegations were confirmed by the governor’s faction of the Benue State House of Assembly.

“Where is the money for the Local Government chairmen to embezzle when over 99.9% of the allocation meant for local government councils is retained by the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy for the personal use of Governor Ortom and his cronies?

“This explains why the governor is boasting of his ability and capacity to sponsor a presidential candidate and his campaign in the 2019 general elections in PDP.

“Governor Samuel Ortom, apart from recruiting and arming militia in order to cause mayhem in the 2019 general elections, has continued to use his Livestock Guards and vigilante group to harass and intimidate APC supporters across the state, particularly those who have refused to defect with him to the PDP.

“Nigerians may wish to recall that in January 2018, soldiers of the 93 Battalion in Takum Area of Taraba State arrested nine members of the Benue State Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) which was later renamed Livestock Guards with AK-47 riffles.

“The arrested members of the group are still in custody of the security agencies. We therefore call on security agencies to check the activities of these groups as we gear up for the 2019 general election,” the former governor said.

But countering the allegations, Agerzua said,” this particular allegation defies logic, especially against the background of Governor Ortom’s internationally acclaimed decision to mop up small arms in the state through a wellarticulated amnesty programme.

“However, in talking about a militia, Senator Akume ought to recall his tenure as governor between 1999 and 2003 when his militia perpetrated mayhem and electoral violence in Tarka, Kwande and Gwer East Local Government Areas.

“If the governor had the intention of arming citizens, the cruel invasion and wanton killings by armed Fulani militia provided an ample opportunity to do so. He has on the contrary resisted the temptation to do so and turn the state into a theatre of bloodbath.

“If the governor disarmed hoodlums in the face of concerted attacks against his people, why does he need to re-arm them for an election he is confident of winning? In 2015 Governor Ortom won election popularly and overwhelmingly without the aid of any militia and there is no need whatsoever for him to resort to any illegal means to win re-election in 2019”.