Benue: Traditional council knocks Akume over attack on Tor Tiv
Tiv traditional council has condemned the recent verbal attack against the Tor Tiv by the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Senator George Akume, describing it as sacrilegious and unacceptable.
The Ter Ikyor and Chairman of Second Class Traditional Rulers in Tiv land, Chief Thomas Jam Gbinde, who led the royal fathers in condemnation of the conduct, said such outing by Senator George Akume was alien to the Tiv culture.
Chief Gbinde, who was speaking at Agbeede in Konshisha Local Government Area during the Mbator Day celebration on Thursday, noted that castigating the Tor Tiv in the public amounts to insulting the entire Tiv nation, saying such an act was capable of portraying the Tiv people in bad light before other nationalities.
“As illustrious sons of the Tiv nation, it is only proper for anyone who has grudges with our paramount ruler to go and discuss with him in private. You cannot go to the pages of newspapers to rain insults on him because it portrays us as people without respect for the traditional institution,” Ter Ikyor stated.
The district Head of Mbatsen, Chief Daniel Nder Kuhwa, lauded the Tiv Youth Organisation for promptly condemning Senator Akume’s comments and demanded his public apology to the Tor Tiv so as not to merit the wrath of traditional council.
Chief Kuhwa said it is an abomination for a son of Tiv land to go to the market square to call the royal father unprintable names, urging other sons of Tiv extraction to rise in condemnation of such conduct in it totality.
The royal fathers threw their weight behind Governor Samuel Ortom on his efforts in providing security to all parts of Benue State particularly the governor’s recent appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari not to withdraw Operation Whirl Stroke from the state.
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The traditional rulers acknowledged the importance of education and urged their subjects to pursue education, stressing that it was the reason while their son, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Terver Akase, was being celebrated at the event.
Responding, Mr. Akase thanked Mbator community for the honour and dedicated it to Governor Ortom who he said would continue to deliver on his promises to Benue people and promised to support the next celebrations that would feature various competitions where awards would be given to winners to encourage entrepreneurship spirit among the youths.
