The Tiv community in Nasarawa State has frowned at what it described as “unguarded utterances and false narratives” by Comrade Peter Ahemba, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abdullahi Sule on Public Affairs, over the recent governorship election petition tribunal’s judgement.
The community accused Ahemba of capitalising on the suffering of his kinsmen to further his interests.
Addressing the media in Lafia on Thursday, Boniface Iffer, a leader of the Tiv community, called for Ahemba to halt his “divisive statements” and issue an apology for attributing a religious angle to the tribunal’s ruling, stating the community’s strong stance against involving religious institutions in the realm of politics.
Iffer criticised Ahemba’s recent remarks made during a live programme on Africa Independent Television (AIT), describing them as blasphemous and an unconscious attempt to drag the community into the pool of dirty politics.
“Ordinarily, we would have prefer to maintain a dignified silence, but for the avoidance of doubt, Ahemba should not be seen as a representative of the Tiv people by dragging noble personalities into unnecessary disparaging for a pot of porridge just to earn a short-term livelihood.
“This is what the regime in Nasarawa has done to Peter, who is riding on the blood of his Tiv brothers in Nasarawa to find food. His case is like that of Cain and the blood of Abel, or Esau trading his inheritance, and indeed, he is someone who will stop at nothing to sell his birthright for a pot of porridge.
“He has lost his head as the official liar of the government of Nasarawa State. He is fighting and maliciously, for that matter, peddling falsehood just to impress his paymasters. If you sell your land to buy a trumpet, on whose land will you stand to blow it? He used the killing of Tiv people in Obi, Awe, Doma, and a host of other communities in Nasarawa State to campaign for the position he is occupying today.
“Unlike others before him, the sacked TIDA President must not bring disrepute to us just because he wants to maintain his appointment with the state government.
“He should hasten to apologise to the well-meaning leaders of thought in the state and the Tiv Community for such display of uncultured, unguided and excessive bunch of lies and other utterances on AIT and other media platforms in recent times to avoid being totally rejected by his kinsmen as the official liar of Nasarawa State Government,” Iffer stated.