Former senator Ahmad MoAllahyidi, who represented Adamawa South in the 8th National Assembly, chastised Audu Ogbeh for calling for the resignation of Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
On Tuesday, August 1, Ogbeh had accompanied some Idoma stakeholders to a news conference where they voiced displeasure over Prof. Joseph Utsev, a Tiv native, being named as a cabinet nominee from Benue State.
In his remarks to the reporters, Ogbeh demanded Akume’s dismissal, arguing that the allegation that he had a hand in Utsev’s selection was conclusive evidence of the marginalization of Idoma people in the state.
In a statement released on Saturday, MoAllahyidi responded, calling Ogbeh’s behavior regrettable and disappointing.
The convener of Arewa New Agenda further raised worry that Ogbeh’s move had sparked a series of responses in which certain anonymous organisations began waging campaigns of defamation against the SGF.
The statements made by Chief Audu Ogbe, a highly regarded elder statesman, advocating for the dismissal of Senator George Akume, the Government of the Federation’s secretary, caught his attention, he added. If Chief Ogbe and his other agitators had stopped there, it would have been acceptable and seen as their democratic right to express their opinions and campaign for positions.
However, they continued to claim that the SGF was responsible for the development in order to spite the Idoma race and demanded his dismissal. This is where ANA finds it peculiar and wants to step in to clarify the situation so as not to mislead the Nigerian people.
The selection of Akume as SGF by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the early stages of establishing the governance apparatus of his administration “received wide acceptance across the length and breadth of the country, especially among the different strata of political and social circles as it provided the balancing needed for political stability after the hotly contested 2023 presidential election,” according to the report.
MoAllahyidi continued by praising Akume as a “stabilizing rod” in the country’s political system and pointing out that the SGF does not only represent the state but also the North-Central geopolitical region.
He said, “For socio-political convenience, Sen. Akume’s appointment is for the North-Central geopolitical zone and correctly positioned among the northern Christian bloc. It is not appropriate to reduce a nomination that is so important to the stability of Nigeria to a local political struggle in Benue State. In President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet, he is the representative for northern Nigeria. More than that, he serves as a crucial political stabilizing force that keeps the political equation in Nigeria in balance.
“We regret that Chief Ogbe’s stance on Akume’s nomination has given him the opportunity to hear unfavorable remarks from people who otherwise would not have had the chance. Now, those who are ineligible to debate with him alternate berating him.
