News Editor
You would recall that the communique of your meeting with Tiv Development Association (TIDA) published on the Alago Unity Forum WhatsApp platform and other media, was greeted with condemnations and outright rebuke by Alago nation. In furtherance of these reactions, overwhelming calls were made on the Steering Committee to formally repudiate the communique as it neither falls in tandem with the mandate of the committee, nor meet the wishes and aspirations of the majority of Alago people. It must be stated here that the condemnation of your undertaking with TIDA was not only from the followership of the Alago nation but it included loud calls from our prominent stakeholders.
From the foregoing, the undersigned have no option but to firmly dissociate ourselves from the communique at issue, and demand ADA Steering Committee to publicly repudiate it content and withdraw the document from circulation as it is null, void and of no consequences on Alago nation.
For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to further react to the content of the communique as follows:
Status of the ADA Steering Committee
It is imperative to recall that your committee came into existence after a protracted crisis of failed elections to emplace a formal executive to run the affairs of ADA. Consequently, your committee, code-named ‘ADA Steering Committee’, was put in place as a transitional team of officials out of necessity to calm the nerves of all factions of the association with the mandate to review and draft a broad-based constitution as well as organize a successful election of substantive executive committee for the association within six (6) months.
We are all living witnesses to the uproar that followed the constitution of your committee because it was composed of individuals who aspired to occupy various offices during the failed attempts to conduct elections. In consequence of this, the Board of Trustees (BOT) declared that members of the Steering Committee were ineligible to partake in elections to all offices during the cause of steering the affairs of the association. From the foregoing therefore, the mandate of the committee stops at conducting elections to usher in new executive council. Accordingly, the action of your committee to engage TIDA is illegality and tantamount to abuse of office and trust the Alago people repose on you.
Indigene Certificates
We totally dissociate ourselves with the resolution that ‘any embargo placed on the issuance of indigene certificate to Tiv people in any Local Government Area in the Southern Senatorial Zone should kindly be lifted by the authorities concerned’. Again, the ADA/BOT steering committee was NEVER given the mandate to discuss any issue of indigene-ship with any group or association. More so that the matter is purely within the purview of Local Government Authorities as enshrined in our Constitution; therefore, individuals/associations lack the powers to delve into such matter. We consider the communiqué as an affront to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended. And we fervently urge any person or group of persons with issues around issuance of indigene certificates to approach constituted authorities – including the traditional institutions – in any of such affected areas.
Village/District Areas and Appointments
We consider the statement that ‘Village Heads in the gazetted Tiv Village Areas across the Southern part of the State should kindly be appointed by the authorities concerned, as sheer mischief. We are in possession of various Laws – including the last one – creating village/district heads. We wish to state that village areas in Nasarawa South have never been created and accordingly gazetted on the basis of tribe, therefore, the purported ‘Tiv villages/districts do not exist in the southern Senatorial District of Nasarawa State. It is core knowledge that the ascendancy to the position of village/district heads in Nasarawa South Senatorial is purely by election. Therefore, it is an imaginary creation of the signatories to the communique. Further, the steering committee needs to be reminded that matter regarding village/district heads is absolutely on the residual legislative list, hence, within the domain of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly (NSHA) and Nasarawa State Government (NSG). In consequence, the resolution reached on this matter is ultra vires and of no legal significance. We, therefore urge the steering committee to in the interest of peace and tranquillity desist forthwith from discussing matters in which power was NEVER donated to it by the appropriate authority – NSHA or NSG.
Advocacy Visits
We are surprised that the communique emphasized advocacy visits to our revered traditional institutions. Advocacy visits are customary, therefore, enlisting it on the communique speaks of campaign of calumny and cheap popularity.
Land Matters
The leadership of the two associations further show their gross lack of understanding on land administration in Nigeria. It is elementary knowledge that since 1978 when FGN promulgated the Land Use Act, all land in the State; designated urban land are under the direct control and management of the State concerned, and all non-urban otherwise known as customary land are under the direct supervision of the Local Government Council concerned, working in collaboration with their respective land allocation and advocacy committee. It is rather pathetic that the communique attempted to drag our Traditional Institutions in the mud.
In conclusion, the communique had created tension where none existed. Association matters are purely social in nature and further deliberations by the two leaderships should abide by their respective constitutions. Suffice it to state unequivocally that the action of the steering committee members and TIDA Executives which culminated in the so-called communique are null, void and of no legal effect on Alago nation in its entirety.
We hereby DEMAND that the steering committee corrects this anomaly within seven (7) days by publicly repudiating the communique.
May God bless the Alago Nation
May God bless our Traditional Rulers
May God bless Nasarawa State
May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Signed :
Ishaya Oyiwose, Ph.D (Owusakyo)
Zahradeen Ciroma (Akyana)
Jaafar Ahmed Akwe (Doma)
Amokpa Allanana Liberty (Olosoho)
Rabiu Omame (Oleshi)
Yusuf Orogu Abe (Obi)
Jaafar Dodo (Kadarko)
