Concerned residents of Taraba State have condemned a statement credited to the Deputy Governor, Haruna Manu, claiming that the state government was not aware of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state.
Manu, had made the denial during the joint meeting of the Benue/Taraba inter-state border with officials of the National Boundary Commission in Abuja while reacting to the comment by his Benue State counterpart, Benson Abonu, that IDPs from Taraba State were being managed by the Benue State government.
Manu said the Taraba State government was not aware of IDPs from the state taking refuge anywhere but will look into the issue.
Reacting to the comment by the Traba deputy governor, an IDP from Wukari who is currently taking refuge in Kyado in Benue State, Emmanuel Tyonongo, expressed shock over the statement.
Tyonongo said: “It is surprising that the deputy who supervises the peace committee initiated by Governor Darius Ishaku to resettle people in Chonku and Asa Chiefdoms is now claiming ignorance that the state government is not aware of IDPs in Taraba.
“Both Chonku and Asa Chiefdoms have Tiv people in majority who are displaced. Currently, there are people (both Tiv and Jukun) along the border communities. By the time the national boundary commission will come for sensitisation, the truth will be revealed.”
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On his part, Rev. Nathan Tor-Adi said the position of the deputy governor was a clear indication that the Taraba State government has taken side with the Jukuns who are denying Tiv people access to their ancestral land especially in Wukari local government.
He noted that Governor Ishaku last December in Bali local government pledged to repatriate all indigenous Tiv back to their ancestral lands in Taraba, adding that the deputy governor’s statement was a contradiction to the governor’s position and an indication that the crisis was far from over.
“The Deputy Governor Haruna Manu knows that there are Tiv IDPs even in his home local government of Gassol.
“Currently, there is no single Tiv man in Chonku, Kente and Asa chiefdoms. So, where are the people in the eye of the deputy governor? No wonder he did not include any Tiv man from Taraba on his delegation when he truly knows that the Tiv’s in Taraba are adversely affected by the boundary issue both in Taraba and Benue.
When contacted, his Chief Press Secretary, Sani Lawal, said the deputy governor made the remarks in the context of the information available to him.