Youth groups in Benue State, Tiv Youth Organization (TYO) Worldwide and Forum of Concerned Nigerians (FCN) have knocked the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, over his recent comments on Governor Samuel Ortom and Benue State.
Atiku, during a presidential interactive session organized by Arewa Joint Committee, in Kaduna, was quoted to have said he was very angry with Governor Samuel Ortom for profiling Fulani as bandits and terrorists because he’s (Atiku) also a Fulani person.
TYP President General Timothy Hembaor said in a statement that the former Vice President is no longer deserving of the “Zege Mule u Tiv, an honorific title bestowed on him by the Tiv Traditional Council some years ago.
Hembaor said Atiku’s actions and utterances are not only hurtful to the Benue people but also amount to spitting on the graves of victims of Fulani herders attacks in the state.
“Atiku has desecrated the chieftaincy title and therefore does not merit being addressed as such any further.
“The Zege Mule u Tiv means the shelter of the Tiv. It is a title that puts the holder in a unique and special position of being a canopy of protection to Tiv interests. And Atiku Abubakar has publicly proclaimed that he is very angry with Governor Samuel Ortom the Governor of Benue State, the defender of the Benue Valley and the Tiv nation.”
On their part, FCN said Atiku’s comments against Governor Ortom have exposed him as an ethnic champion.
The group in a statement signed by its National Secretary, Samson Echono, wondered why a man who is seeking the highest office in the land to lead Nigerians of diverse cultures, ethnicity and religion would be so parochial in his reasoning and see himself only as a Fulani man.
“Atiku calls himself as the “unifier” but his outings and utterances depict the picture of an extremist and an ethnic champion who will be worse and deadlier than Muhammadu Buhari in protecting killer Fulani herdsmen if given power in 2023.
The group said the PDP presidential candidate has failed the integrity test and proven to Nigerians that he is not the president they are looking for.
“We can’t trust him with our mandate. He will not only construct a rail line to Niger, Cameroun and Chad but also practically transport all Fulanis from across the African continent to Nigeria and force the original occupants out of their ancestral lands.
“We ask Atiku to tender an unreserved apology to Governor Ortom. His statement against Ortom is capable of setting the Governor against Fulanis and endangering him.”
The group maintained that Ortom has nothing personal against Fulanis as he has some Fulanis as his appointees and has maintained a cordial relationship with Fulani people who are good and harmless.
FCN recalled how Governor Ortom worked assiduously to market Atiku in 2019 and ensured that he defeated Buhari in the state during that year’s presidential election saying “His hatred of the Governor is therefore unfortunate and only exposes him as an ethnic jingoist who does not deserve the mandate of Nigerians.