A Benue group known as Kwande Youth Council (KYC) has advised people of Kwande Local Government Area to learn from history and bury any plan to impose council chairmanship candidate on the people in the forthcoming council polls in the state.
The group also warned all those who are peddling rumour that Governor Samuel Ortom had anointed a woman as the preferred candidate for Kwande LGA in the election to learn from history and forget about the idea.
In a statement signed by its publicity secretary, Orkuma Adzua Ikyur, the group warned that the people of the area had never in the past allowed imposition of chairmanship candidates and would not give their consent to such in the area.
“It is suddenly making the rounds that Governor Ortom has anointed a female candidate who is being fronted by a section of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the LGA for the office of chairman in the polls and this has prompted our reaction.
“It must be noted that Governor Ortom has a cordial relationship with the people of kwande, as evident in the high profile appointments he has trusted them with.
“We do not think that he will buy into the machinations of a few individuals who want to cause chaos in Kwande using his name because we know he stands for equity and justice.”
The group, while condemning the act of name dropping by desperate politicians to score cheap political points recalled that sometimes in 2004, a similar insinuation led to armed conflict that resulted in killings, destruction of property and the crumbling of economic activities in the area and warned against a repeat of such development.
The KYC appealed to political actors in the area to uphold the extant political arrangement which respects the wishes of the people of Kwande in line with the democratic tenets of fairness, equity and inclusion.