Benue State Government on Tuesday said the process leading to the election of a new paramount ruler for Idomaland was fair and transparent.
A pastor of the Deeper Christian Ministry, John Odogbo, had emerged the Och’Idoma-elect during an election conducted on December 30, 2021.
But an Idoma socio-cultural organisation, Ochetoha K’Idoma, had rejected the outcome of the election, alleging that the process was hijacked by external influence.
The group, in a statement issued by its President, Toni Adokwu, further described the election of the new paramount ruler “as a charade of misguided persons with intent to impose themselves and their cronies on the Idoma people.”
But the state Supervising Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Ekpe Ogbu, said the organisation failed to point at specific instances of misnomer in the election.
Ogbu said, “I am reaffirming the credibility, transparency, fairness and strict adherence to due process and the provisions of the Benue State Chieftaincy Law 2016 throughout the process of the election that produced the Och’Idoma-elect.
“The group’s statement did not point out a single provision of the Chieftaincy Law 2016 that was abused. This law has been used in the past to elect first class, second class and third class chiefs successfully in Idoma Land without complaint from any quarter, including Ochetoha K’Idoma.
“It is the same law that was used to elect the new Och’Idoma and no provision of the law was breached in the process.
“On the allegation of interference by the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, nothing can be farther from the truth! The governor had assured the people of Idoma that he was not going to interfere and he kept to his promise.
“For Ochetoha K’Idoma to turn around and accuse him (governor) of interference is the most uncharitable thing to allege.”
