Group passes vote of confidence in Benue dep speaker amidst media attacks by Ado council chairman …Urges Gov Alia, Benue Assembly to ignore attacks on deputy speaker. ....Says they are agent of mere distractions

From Gabriel Agbo, Makurdi 

A group  of Ado youths under the auspices of 'Ado United Progressive Youths' (AUPY), on Thursday, appealed to Benue State Governor Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Alfred Emberga and the entire Ado people, to ignore needless media attacks on the deputy speaker, Chief Mrs Lami Danladi Ogenyi.

The deputy speaker is representing Ado State Constituency in the State Assembly.

The group in a statement issued on Thursday and made available to newsmen in Makurdi urged the governor and the speaker to continue believing Lami's proven ability and integrity to deliver in her position.

The group noted that, while the post of a legislator and deputy speaker is a serious-minded position which requires absolute commitment, loyalty and dedication for one to deliver, also explains why the needless sponsored attacks have been going on unabatedly in recent times, bankrolls  by the executive chairman of Ado local government council, Sunday Oche, with the sole aim of distracting her from performing her responsibilities.

In the statement signed by the group’s National President/Convener, Comrade George Ogbu Onminyi berated the deputy speaker traducers led by Ado council boss, Sunday Oche and his urchin, one Aare Abiodun purported  publisher of a discredited online  newspaper, describing them as “ rabble -rousers”.

The group further remarked that  the Deputy Speaker has been consistent in delivering tangible results as legislator and as deputy speaker of the Benue 10th Assembly, stressing that the media attacks are unwarranted and uncalled for.

The statement read partly, “We condemn without reservations the sponsored media attacks by some unscrupulous elements with warped vested interests against the person of the deputy speaker, Lami Danladi Ogenyi.

"We say with all sense of modesty and humility that Chief Mrs. Lami Ogenyi, Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, remains one of the finest State legislators Ado has ever produced, and also one of public office holders in this present administration, who has brought panache and finesse to redefine legislative governance within the State Assembly.

" it is obvious to discerning minds that the attacks on her by Sunday Oche using the Nigeria Concord Newspaper published by Aare Abiodun, and others were meant to hamstring and distract Lami from offering her best efforts to assist the administration of governor Hyacinth Alia with quality legislations that could  place the State on the map of  development.

"We therefore, on behalf of the entire AUPY members passed a vote of confidence on the deputy speaker . We say as a woman with the requisite character, capacity, competence, and qualification to represent Ado constituency, we admonish her  not to be distracted as she continues with her good works in serving the State and her constituency with humanity.

The statement added, "We as a group would have chosen to ignore these media rabble -rousers behind the unwarranted attacks and their toxic shenanigans but for their tendency to misinform and therefore mislead some people who might not truly know what the real issues are.

"Therefore, some media- rats coordinated by one Aare Abiodun uses their fake media outlets to run abusive, undignified and uncomplimentary commentaries against prominent individuals in our society for the purpose of making money and gaining other gratifications.

"This time around, the executive chairman of Ado local government council, Sunday Oche had gone to engage their services, thereby using the resources of the council meant for the development of the area and well-being of Ado people to pay for spreading falsehoods against the Deputy Speaker on a daily basis. 

"Our finding indicates that Aare and his cohorts were being paid high as much as N5 million per month with the mandate to demarket the  Deputy Speaker and paint her image very dark before the public.

"It may interest the general public to know that most of the issues raised in their baseless piece against the person of  the Deputy Speaker are unfounded and lies from the pit of hell which cannot be substantiated in anyway".

They maintained that the Deputy Speaker's  immediate constituency, will never forget in a hurry her numerous impactful contributions and projects attracted so far to them, especially in the areas of health, education and employment.  

According to them, just few days ago, the Deputy Speaker, announced plans to organise another phase of seven days free medical outreach for her constituents.

"The fresh phase of the medical outreach is in furtherance to the already successfully concluded medical and surgical outreach held at Apa and Akpoge/Ogbilolo Council Wards where thousands of residents benefitted from various medical interventions. These, and many more things she has done.

"The Deputy Speaker is a woman of peace who is so determined, focused and dogged to provide quality representation for her people and so, no amount  of any media attack will ever deter her from doing good to humanity. As it is, presently she is very  much preoccupy with enormous legislative activities and other oversight functions and have no time to respond to any cook and bull terrier.

"The Ezza communities of Ado LGA had since acknowledged the Deputy Speaker's efforts in entrenching peace in their area. They have also in the past, expressed gratitude to her for liberating them from the hand of the council chairman who since assumption of office, continues to victimise them and destroying their respective communities through introduction of kidnapping and raping of their women. The Deputy Speaker is very much at home with the Ezzas who loves her and cherish what she is doing for them.

The group warned the Ado council chairman, Sunday Oche to stop sponsoring media attacks on the Deputy Speaker and  challenged him to come and tell them what he has done with the several billions of naira he has so far collected from the federal allocation.

"Just in the month of August, Sunday Oche collected over N799 million from the federal allocation and there is nothing to show in our area.

"We are aware of how the council chairman, Sunday Oche went to Akpoge/Ogbilolo in Agila district in September this year to lied to them about how governor Alia  collected the sum of N12bn from Ado local government account in the name of financing the Igumale- Apa- Agila road which is yet to be completed.

"Sunday Oche has consistently and publicly lambasted the State Governor for starving local government chairmen of funds. The chairman once told his supporters publicly that he regretted contesting for the chairmanship position.

"We are also aware of the fact that, the chairman is inciting the Ezzas against themselves and the Effium people to engage in dispute and war  that could enable him seek for more allocation of security votes. 

"For those who may have forgotten and those who genuinely do not know, including the tribe of the faceless and garrulous attackers of the person of Mrs. Danladi Ogenyi, it’s apt for posterity’s sake that the incumbent Deputy Speaker had done well for us in Ado so far in her legislative career and had delivered excellently.

“We once again, call on Governor  Hyacinth Alia and particularly the speaker, Alfred Emberga to continue to have confidence in his Deputy who without equivocation is one of Benue’s finest legislators at the moment", Ogbu Onminyi’s statement concluded.