The lingering crisis trailing the election of Governor Hyacinth Alia took a new turn on Monday as a pro-good governance and accountability group, Benue Vanguard for Good Governance, warned against continued attack on the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Media & Publicity, Hon. Phillip Agbese.
Hon Agbese, a Member representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State, had last week, removed the official portrait of Governor Alia from his office at the National Assembly.
The Federal Lawmaker based his reason on Alia’s disrespect for the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the rule of law, saying, “he is not fit to be called a Leader”.
Agbese’s action has received a lot of reactions, with some sections saying the young man had done noble, while other groups said it was “childish” and “untimely”.
In reaction to the ugly development, National Coordinator of Benue Vanguard for Good Governance, Patriot Apeh Oche in a statement made available to Journalists, described Hon. Agbese as an “hero of democracy who should be celebrated for speaking truth to power,” saying he is “a true son of Benue who is fearless, courageous and visionary”.
The Vanguard warned strongly that any attempt to silence Agbese will be rejected by the youths of Benue, describing him as “a great asset” to the state.
The group also alleged sponsoring social media attacks on Hon. Agbese with pseudo accounts.
“Whilst we understand that it is within their democratic right to write any rubbish and be published, we will not tolerate any harm to Agbese.
“Agbese is a great asset to Benue and the role he is playing in National Assembly is not for his Constituency or Benue State alone, he is speaking for the entire House of Representatives and by extension, Nigerians.
“He has the right to form his opinion about anyone in Government, especially, issues affecting his political party, his State and the country at large. Like many other Nigerians, Agbese will not hesitate to speak out when anything is wrong.
“We know some people have a history of violence and may be tempted to plot great harm against the Lawmaker. We are following the trend and we invite the various security agencies to provide security for the Lawmaker, his family members and staff and also keep tabs on the activities of the state government”, the group added.
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