Benue Youth Forum, BYF, has warned against any attempt to impose on the people of Benue State a governor in 2019.
The choice of the governor should be made by the people, the group said.
BYF gave the warning in a statement issued by its President, Comrade Terrence Kuanu, on Monday in reaction to an alleged plot to impose a governor on Benue State.
The group said the indication of a possible imposition was given by one Alhaji Garus Gololo, who, during an interview, allegedly endorsed Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime, the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Benue State on behalf of all Fulanis nationwide.
The group said the endorsement of Jime by the group reminded of the statement earlier made by the Chairman of Miyetti Allah Koutal Hore, Alhaji Abdullahi Bodejo, earlier in the year when he was trying to justify the alleged killings by his group.
He was said to have threatened that come 2019, they as a group would change the political leadership in Benue for daring to enact a law prohibiting open grazing of livestock in Benue State.
But in its statement, BYF vowed to resist any attempt to impose a governor on the people of the state.
The statement reads in part: “We wish to state categorically clear that we as a Forum will not hesitate at any point to defend our people. Benue is our state and we have nowhere else to go.
“We maintain that Benue people must be allowed to willingly choose their leaders in 2019 general election. Our people must not be intimidated or coerced into accepting a governorship candidate imposed on them by enemies of the state. We will resist any form of imposition or plot to cause political instability in Benue State.
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“We will resist with equal vigour, any attempt to influence next year’s elections to favour one political party in Benue State. We assure our people that we are on alert, monitoring activities of our enemies and the people aligning with them. We shall address our people at the appropriate time and expose those colluding with killers of innocent Benue people to effect a change of leadership in the state.”
BYF said it was grateful to those who had chosen to stand up to be counted on the side of truth and justice.
“Ours is a struggle for generations of Benue children yet to come. Our political party is Benue State,” the group said.
