By Samson Osuo-Lafia.
Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule is set to appoint an administrator to oversee the affairs of Mararaba Udege in Nasarawa Local Government Council of the State.
The move is part of the governor’s effort to restore peace in the troubled area of the Local Government Council.
Governor Abdullahi Sule took the decision during an expanded Security meeting involving Stakeholders of the Afo ethnic group at the Government House in Lafia, the State Capital.
Sule, who expressed concern over the ongoing conflict that has led to the loss of lives and properties worth millions of Naira destroyed, said he will do everything possible to restore peace in the area.
“As a Government, we have to take a decision for the peace of the land, we can not allow things to continue the way they are, we decided that as far as Government is concerned, none of the two contending houses would be recognized in control of Mararaba in Udege Development Area of the State”.
Sule, who appealed to the parties in the conflict to shed their sword and give peace a chance, said his administration would appoint an administrator for Udege. Development Area, adding that two persons from Udo and Embu Communities will be appointed to assist the government in coming up with the final solutions.
Sule said the decision taken by his administration was based on the various reports submitted on the matter and the administration’s desire to end the mayhem in the area.
“Our decisions are based on all these reports and not just on one report, we have to look at the reports in totality, I want everybody to go and remember that the small village you knew as Mararaba is no longer a village, It has expanded, that is the reason why the entire Afo land was just one district under Udege, but now you have six, It will not be surprising to create another chieftaincy in Mararaba itself, It has grown to that level, if we create that, we will work with the administrator that we are appointing in line with the reports that we have received, to make sure that everybody is represented”.
He called on the stakeholders to consider Mararaba as belonging to the Afo Nation, not minding their differences.
Earlier, the National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Abdulkarim Kana (SAN), lamented that the crisis engulfing Afo land has reached the point that Afo stakeholders have to be summoned by the Governor.
Professor Kana, therefore, appealed to the Afo people, especially the warring factions, to lay down their arms and embrace peace to support the administration of Governor Sule, which is bringing development to the area.
