Nigerian Concord Newspaper
Coalition of Benue Youth Associations, BYF has condemned recent media activities of a former President-General of the Tiv Youth Organization, Mr. Timothy Hembaor where he claimed that the state governor, Reverend Father Hyacinth is looting billions of the State local government allocations.
Reacting to the allegations in a press statement signed by its President, Chief Jude Tion, the Coalition of Benue Youth Associations described the report by Hembaor as false and injurious.
The group said that the report lacked merits as the author, Timothy Hembaor has failed to proved that the current twenty three local government chairmen in the state have not been enjoying local government autonomy under the administration of Governor Hyacinth Alia since they assumed duties.
According to the group, Mr. Hembaor is looking for a way to get patronage within the current administration but turned to be blackmailing the same government because he was not patronized as a result of his nefarious acts.
The group however gave him seven days to either prove that there is no local government autonomy in Benue and also that the governor has been looting local government allocations or apologize for using his “infamous” newspaper to mislead the public about the true situation of local government autonomy in the state. “Failure to do this, we shall raise a legal issue against him in court” the group added.
The group recalled how Hembaor was using his position as the President-general of the Tiv Youth Organization to blackmail previous administrations of Gabriel Suswam and Chief Samuel Ortom because they refused to patronize a “serial” blackmailer.
The group also recalled an event of September 1, 2021 when Timothy Hembaor addressed a press conference on the platform of the Tiv Youth Organization at Dadin Kowa Youth Center in Jos, Plateau State where he labelled the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume as the ‘Judas of the Tiv Nation”.
The Coalition of Benue Youths Associations also exposed how Mr. Hembaor at the press conference which he addressed in Jos in 2021 told the world that the SGF was behind the coordinated attacks on Benue State by Fulani militia herdsmen.
The group stated that Hembaor is still nursing the bitterness he had developed in his heart since June 6, 2024 when Members of the Benue State House of Assembly rejected him as a nominee to be the Caretaker Committee chairman of Ushongo local government as a result of series of petitioned that were filed against him for his nefarious acts in the state. He was then replaced by one Hon. Mvendaga Atetan.
To substantiate its criminal allegations against Mr. Timothy Hembaor, the Coalition of Benue Youth Associations also recalled a 2017 incident where he was arrested for libel defamation of notable personalities in the society.
“He was released after the Crucial interventions of prominent Tiv sons in Abuja. He was made to sign an undertaking to desist from libeling public office holders before he was released conditionally” the group noted..
The Coalition of Benue Youth Associations also recalled a critical incident that happened on January 15, 2022 between Hembaor and a popular publisher and Makurdi club owner, Chief John Akperashi.
The group recalled how Chief John Akperashi had then descended heavily on Hembaor on the Social media with an accusation on how he duped him (Akperashi) of a total sum of N3 million.
Furthermore, the Coalition of Benue Youth Associations also recalled an incident of March, 24, 2017 when Mr. Timothy Hembaor falsely accused Rt. Hon. Hycienth Terkimbi Nyakuma, the then Majority Leader of the House of Assembly of collecting #350 million from Miyatti Allah (MACBAN) and gave same to the then Speaker Benue State House of Assembly, Mr. Terkimbi Ikyange to swap the Executive bill on “anti-grazing” with a favourable bill for grazing.
The group however pleaded with the people of Benue State not to take Hembaor serious as he has been known for serially blackmailing any office holder that fails to patronize him.