Before, during, and after the 2023 general elections, the Tiv Traditional Council (TTC) has warned all traditional rulers in Benue State to abstain from actions that will reflect poorly on the traditional institutions in the state.
This is even as the council warned those in the habit of disrupting elections to steer clear or face severe sanction by the council.
The United States Institutes of Peace (USIP) Network of Nigerian Facilitators held a stakeholders engagement in Makurdi, where the representative of the Makurdi traditional council, MueTer, Ihyarev, his royal majesty Simon Ajoh, issued a warning that any traditional ruler involved in political crises would be immediately suspended and derobed if found guilty.
According to him, “the Tiv Traditional Council has held several meetings with all the political actors in Benue State, where it was clearly stated that any Tiv son, daughter and even residents found indulging in political violence before, during and after the general elections will be sanctioned severely by the council”
In an address, the state chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Akpen Leva, disclosed that the church had commenced sensitizing her members since the previous year against engaging in unwholesome behavior before, during, and after elections.
In order to ensure a peaceful, impartial, and credible election, he stated, “we have trained election monitors and the church has further advised politicians against campaigning on religious principles.”
The state Coordinator, USIP, Saa Aungwa and her counterpart Kengkeng Ati intimated that the aim of the meeting is to engage stakeholders to x-ray challenges faced before during and after elections and as well device ways of nibbing them in the bud.
