From Esther Akaa, Lafia
The Tiv Development Association (TIDA), an umbrella body of the Tiv people of Nasarawa State has described media publications in some quotas purportedly aimed at blackmailing the immediate past President of the association, Hon. Peter Ahemba and Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Public Affairs to Governor Abdullahi Sule as malicious and unfounded.
A statement issued on Tuesday by the TIDA President, Mr. Solomon Chunku and Secretary, Emmanuel Tseem said the publications against the SSA was designed to blackmail and bring Hon. Ahemba as well as the state government to disrepute.
According to the statement, the sponsored media attacks on the SSA as scripted by enemies of the Tiv Community was due to Hon. Ahemba’s recent fearless and well articulated views on an African Independent Television (AIT) live programme where he discussed matters arising from the recent verdict of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in the state.
The statement noted that the SSA was carrying out his duties as the governor’s spoke person when he appeared on AIT and not as a representative of the Tiv Community as portrayed in the ill-motivated publications.
It read:” Ordinarily, this show of envy and petty jealousy against an innocent and promising young man coming from a former President of TIDA, Boniface Ifer and his script writer, both of whom are men of questionable characters with known criminal tendencies within the Tiv Community deserves no response, however, it has become necessary to caution against dragging the name of the Tiv Community in the mud for selfish gains, as well as put records straight for the sake of the reading public.
“First of all, Hon Peter Ahemba, upon his appointment as Senior Special Assistant by His Excellency, Engr. Abdullahi A. Sule, resigned his position as TIDA President and handed over the affairs of the association to the Tiv Council of Elders, led by the Ter Tiv of the state, His Royal Highness, Chief Clement Ibo (JP), who subsequently convened a congress where the nomination of Solomon Chunku by Mbabai clan to complete his tenure was unanimously approved, in line with the provisions of TIDA constitution (2019 as amended) which states that, “where a serving TIDA official is appointed into a political office, he/she should resign his position in TIDA to face the new office”.
“Unlike Boniface Ifer, whose tenure as TIDA President was characterised by abysmal performance, leading to his impeachment and replacement with Mr. Emmanuel Agba Igba, Hon. Peter Ahemba demonstrated selflessness in leadership with integrity and has so far remained one of the best TIDA Presidents in the history of the Tiv nation in terms of service to the Tiv Community and humanity in general.
“In case Mr. Boniface Ifer and his co-travellers have forgotten so soon, the crises affecting the Tiv people of Nasarawa state predates the administration of Engr. Abdullahi A. Sule. For instance, the Tiv Community came under heavy attacks and displacement during the preceding administrations, a situation the current government of Engr. Sule inherited and has been working hard to put a permanent stop to it.
“As a community, we remain grateful to His Excellency, Engr. Abdullahi A. Sule for his government’s commitment at the security of lives and property of the citizenry, especially the restoration of relative peace in our villages and pray that God will give him the wisdom and that it takes to be able to restore total and permanent peace in our villages and the state as a whole.
“We wish to, again, place on record, our unalloyed loyalty and support to the policies and Programmes of the Engr. Sule’s administration for the good of all and sundry, while also condemning the wicked acts of blackmail and mischief calculated to pull down a vibrant and fearless young man in the person of Hon. Peter Ahemba, who has become a shinning example for the young generation.
“Let it be known that the Tiv people did not demand any apology from Hon. Peter Ahemba as portrayed in the publications by Boniface Ifer because the Governor’s aide and a worthy son of the Tiv Community has not done anything wrong. Rather, we demand an unreserved apology from Mr. Boniface Ifer and his script writer(s) for trading with the Tiv Community for selfish reasons. The Tiv nation is not a political party and cannot be seen to be responding to issues of one political party versus the other.
“We wish to draw the attention of general public to the fact that, the Tiv Development Association is the only recognised umbrella body that speaks for the Tiv nation of Nassrawa state and anyone or group of persons speaking in such capacity other than it’s leadership amounts to impersonation and a crime punishable under the laws of the land.
“At this juncture, we call on the general public to disregard the malicious publication which we consider an act of impersonation perpetrated by Boniface Ifer and his collaborators. We also dissociate the Nasarawa State Tiv Community completely from the cheap blackmail and mischievous act of pull-him-down, which has regretably remained a practice by some self-centered individuals within the Tiv Community.”
Consequently, the statement affirmed its backing for Hon. Ahemba, stating that he has so far shown competence in carrying out his designated role as SSA to Governor Sule.
It also gave him a vote of confidence for effectively representing the Tiv people in the current government.
