Benue ACN denies plan to settle out-of-court with Suswam

THE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Benue State has denied entering into a negotiation with Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to settle their dispute over the April 26, 2011, governorship election out-of-court.The governorship candidate of ACN, Prof. Steve Ugbah, who made this clarification in Makurdi while addressing party supporters, expressed shock and disappointment that the mere attendance of a thanksgiving service at the instance of Barnabas A. I. Gemade, the senator representing Benue North-East Senatorial District at the National Assembly at the weekend, could be misconstrued by PDP supporters.Ugbah explained that the ACN leaders in the state attended the church service as a mark of respect for an elder brother and statesman, who was a colleague of the ACN Senate Minority Leader, Dr. George Akume, at the National Assembly.'In the presence of God, it was just natural that we sought for the enthronement of truth as a way to atone for peace and development of Tiv land. By Tiv tradition, peace will come when the true and actual winner of the April 2011 polls takes charge. God knows the true winner and will not allow the mandate of the people of Benue State to go in vain', he explained.He reiterated that he remained a loyal and resolute member of the ACN and under no circumstance would he negotiate or compromise the mandate of the people, just as he assured his supporters that Akume and all leaders of the ACN were still committed to the recovery of the stolen mandate from Dr. Gabriel Torwua Suswam and the PDP.While appealing to ACN supporters to remain calm and law-abiding and to ignore the rumour making the rounds that they had negotiated to withdraw the case, Ugbah further disclosed that the ACN case in the Court of Appeal, Makurdi Division, challenging the striking out of his petition on February 28, 2012, was just argued and judgment reserved for a later date.
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