November 03, (THEWILL) – A group, under the aegis of Benue Coalition for Democracy (BCD), has accused the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Iyorchia Ayu, of maintaining sealed lips in the wake of flooding that has affected some parts of the state and the killing in Gbeji community, Ukum local government area, which claimed several lives.
It noted with dismay that as the biggest beneficiaries of key positions at the federal level from Benue State, senator Ayu, has never returned such gesture and blessings he received back to the state in reciprocation.
“Parts of Benue State have come under renewed attacks by Fulani herdsmen in recent weeks. Gbeji in Ukum local government area recorded one of the heaviest casualties with 36 corpses recovered and more people still missing, while others are in the hospital. Benue is one of the states facing the biggest floods with thousands of people rendered homeless by the surging water.
“As the National Chairman of a political party, which is seeking to take over the reigns of power at the centre next year, many Nigerians expected Ayu to visit Gbeji and sympathise with families of those killed in the attack, while condemning the dastardly act. He was also expected to visit the areas most affected by flooding and offer some words of consolation, but to no avail.”
National Coordinator of the Group, Mr Aloysius Gbakaan, in a statement in Makurdi, noted that it would not have been too much to send relief materials to the victims, as well as invite the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to accompany him (Ayu) to visit Gbeji and the flood-hit areas.
“Ayu did none of these and instead, mounted the political podium in Gboko to attack Governor Samuel Ortom and other PDP stakeholders in Benue State, who have called his bluff. He sounded like a military dictator who has absolute power under his control. But we are not surprised. Ayu is a Machiavellian. He belongs to the ilk of those who are sly, deceptive, distrusting, and manipulative.”
According to the BCD Coordinator, senator Ayu is known for destroying those who help him to ascend to positions of authority, pointing out that for him, allowing the people who pushed him to climb the ladder to remain relevant will be detrimental to his sustained stay at the top.
He recalled that it was the then governor of Benue state, late Rev Father Moses Adasu, who brought Iyorchia Ayu, whom he said was an unknown university lecturer to political limelight, by denying the late Valentine Iortim Unongo, the senate slot to favour Ayu, who won and became president of the Senate.
The group alleged that when George Akume became Governor of Benue State in 1999, Ayu influenced him to hate Adasu with venom, such that the late priest was denied financial support from Akume’s government to enable him get medical attention until he died in 2005 with only N5,000 in his account.
“Adasu was prevented from seeing the then governor, Akume, each time, on the orders of Ayu, who was like the proprietor of Government House at that time. He was also behind the frosty relationship between Governor Akume and Chief Barnabas Gemade, who made him Governor”.
Mr Gbakaan pointed out that soon after Akume became Governor, senator Ayu moved in and raised sentiments of Jemgbagh brotherhood and shoved the likes of Gemade aside and took charge of all decisions; destroying every Tiv man who had the potential to give him competition.
“When he was done with Akume that he destroyed and abandoned, calling him unprinted names and did all he could to penetrate and control Suswam and failed in his plot to replace Suswam in 2011 by bringing Prof Steve Ugba, who is from the same Logo local government area as Suswam, to run for governor.
“His current mission is to destroy governor Samuel Ortom, who recently revived his political career and made him PDP National Chairman. The first thing Ayu did was to blackmail the governor before Atiku and other Fulani leaders that Ortom is the one profiling all Fulanis as killers.”
The statement points to the fact that Ayu’s target is to push governor Ortom far from the centre and scheme of things in PDP, so that he will be the chief decision maker, if Atiku becomes president next year.
The BCD, therefore, demands an immediate apology from Ayu for playing politics when Benue people are being killed; saying both Ayu and Atiku have spat on the graves of scores of Benue people hacked down by herders who are on the prowl to actualise the Fulani agenda.
The Benue coalition group said it found the insult from Ayu and Atiku unacceptable and promised to vent their anger during next year’s election.
It will be recalled that senator, at an outing in Gboko, boasted that he has the sole powers as the national chairman of the PDP, to make or mar any candidate of party to win or lose election in the 2023 polls.
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