Tivs in Nasarawa at war over Almakura’s senatorial ambition

TiV people in Nassarawa state are at war amongst themselves because of governor Almakura’s senatorial ambition for 2019.The ongoing allegations and counter allegations amongst Tiv leadership in the state has climaxed into a war situation going by the aggressive actions being carried out amongst themselves especially with the endorsement of Almakura by some factions. This is coming at a time when the Tor Tiv had insisted that all Tiv associations should be collapsed into one in order to form a united front. The two factions are the Nzou U Tiv and the TIDA (Tiv development association), which are supposed to be cultural organizations but have instead become platforms for political rascality.

The recent decamping of some Tiv factions from APC to the PDP in the state is brewing serious commotion among Tiv leadership of the various factions. In a press conference held at the correspondent chapel office in the state on Tuesday by the Almakura support group under the leadership of one Moses Utondu and his group are claiming that there was no defection of any Tiv members of APC to the PDP, alleging that the so called defection was a gimmick by some persons who have lost favor with Almakura and want to tarnish the Tiv people.

He alleged that the immediate former commissioner of environment, Gabriel Akaka had one time attempted to kidnap him but failed and however mobilized his boys to harass and threatened his personal assistant.

In a reaction, the youth president of the Nzou U Tiv, Peter Ahemba said the recognised Tiv cultural association is the Nzou U Tiv worldwide, disclosing that the Tiv association is not a political group and therefore any persons using the association to endorse politicians is doing that at their own detriment.

It is pertinent to note that the Tiv people in Nasarawa state have been under heavy attacks by killer herdsmen and over thirty thousand Tiv have been displaced from their ancestral homes. Over hundred Tiv communities in the southern senatorial zone have remained ravaged by herdsmen and huge numbers of them have refused to return as Fulani attackers chased those that attempted to return to their homes. Some of the Tiv group who dumped the APC to the PDP recently alleged that the Almakura support group has been diverting relief materials donated by the governor to IDPs in the state. The group further alleged that governor Almakura is aware of the diversion of the relief materials to the IDPs because they have written to him severally over the diversion but he refused to act.

Some of the Tiv leaders who don’t want their names in print said that Almakura should not expect the Tiv to vote for him in 2019 who under his watch, over a thousand Tiv people were slaughtered by Fulani herders in the state.