The political drama in Benue State reached a climax on Sunday following the sudden resignation of the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aondona Dajoh, who was reportedly forced out of office after presiding over a session where a commissioner-nominee was rejected.
Dajoh’s resignation, which came abruptly on Sunday afternoon, paved the way for the swearing-in of Hon. Alfred Berger Emberga, a previously suspended lawmaker, as the new Speaker. Emberga had only recently been suspended, alongside three others, over an alleged plot to unseat Dajoh.
Although no official reason was given for the leadership change, revelations from a Lagos-based journalist and former spokesman to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Ismail Omipidan, shed light on the circumstances.
In a Facebook post titled “Benue House: Why Speaker Dajoh was removed”, Omipidan alleged that the former Speaker’s removal was linked to his insistence on legislative independence, particularly in handling commissioner nominations.
According to him, Dajoh’s “sin” was allowing the rejection of Prof. Yangien Ornguga, an Associate Professor of Law at Benue State University and younger brother to the paramount ruler of the Tiv nation, the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse.
Omipidan explained that Ornguga’s nomination had attracted a flood of petitions from different quarters, which ultimately led lawmakers to deem him unfit for the commissioner role. Despite his royal connection, the Assembly voted against his confirmation.
The rejection, however, is believed to have unsettled Governor Hyacinth Alia, who reportedly nominated Ornguga at the behest of the Tor Tiv, a close ally of the governor.
“The former Speaker, Aondona Dajoh, was courageous in carrying out the screening of nominees last week,” Omipidan wrote. “But I knew the rejection of the younger brother of the Tor Tiv… would trigger a crisis.”
He further warned that the development may not be over, hinting that the rejected nominee could be re-presented to the Assembly for approval in the coming days.
With Dajoh’s ouster and Emberga’s emergence, analysts believe the crisis underscores the high-stakes power play between the legislature, the executive, and traditional institutions in Benue State.
