Tiv/Jukun crisis: TYO urges Taraba Assembly to impeach Gov. Ishaku

Rose Ejembi, Makurdi

In a statement signed by it’s President General, Comrade Timothy Hembaor and made available to Daily Sun, the Organization described as shocking, statement by Gov. Ishaku at the joint stakeholders meeting which was held at the instance of President Muhammad Buhari to resolve the imbroglio between the Tiv and Jukun in Taraba State.

Our correspondent gathered that Ishaku at the meeting had opposed a suggestion by Governor Samuel Ortom that the federal government should set up a commission of Inquiry to look into the root cause of the problem with a view to finding a lasting solution.

Ishaku who was said to have insisted that he was capable of solving the problem added that out of 3000 teachers that were employed in the state, 400 Tiv indigenes were among while one Tiv woman was appointed as a commissioner into his cabinet.

But reacting, Hembaor said Governor Ishaku’s statements at the meeting portrayed him as a Jukun governor and not as a Taraba governor.

“It is on record that Governor Ishaku declared his lack of regard and loyalty to the Nigerian Constitution while speaking at the peace meeting over the continued feud between the Tiv and Jukun in Taraba State.

“Governor Ishaku who was shockingly and visibly aggressive, spoke like a Jukun governor and not a Taraba governor. He clearly took sides with his tribe’s men and described the Constitution which he took an oath to defend as defective since, according to him, it has deprived his people the right to uphold their cultural beliefs and ancient traditional practices.

While calling for the Governor’s immediate impeachment, TYO wonders why Governor Ishaku whose office is a creation of the Constitution would make such unpatriotic comments.

The TYO President stated that the Taraba Governor had by his outing in Abuja, shown that he is parochial in thought, lacks the capacity to lead a heterogeneous society and harbours deep hatred against other ethnic groups in his state.

Hembaor drew the attention of other Nigerians to what he described as the grand conspiracy by Jukun elite to wipe out the Tiv race in Taraba State stressing that Tiv people in Taraba are indigenes of the state and any attempt to force them out of the state will be against the laws of this country.

“TYO notes that Tiv people have over the years contributed in great measure to the development of Taraba State. The motion for the creation of Taraba State was also moved by a Tiv man, late Hitler Gbaaondo, who was a member of the House of Representatives in the second republic.

“TYO identifies a clear lack of sincerity on the part of the Taraba State government which is the main factor for escalation of the crises. Under the supervision of Governor Ishaku, names of Tiv villages which have been in existence for over a century in Taraba State have been renamed.

“As a group, we align ourselves with the submission of the Benue State Government that a Commission of Inquiry be set up by the Federal Government to properly look into both the remote and immediate causes of the crisis,” the statement read in part.