President Bola Tinubu has been urged by the Benue State Inter-tribal Association in Politics (BSITAP) to consider the Idoma People for ministerial appointments.
In a statement issued in Markudi, the Association’s Secretary, Ocholohi Ogolekwu, extended their call to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and endorsed a United Nations Habitat Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Raymond Edoh, as the best candidate to represent the Idomas.
The group, which expressed confidence in Sen. George Akume, the Secretary to the State Government, pleaded with the President to respect “the already existing mutual political understanding between the two tribes in Benue State” by appointing an Idoma son “to take over the ministerial slot for Benue State”.
He said, “Sen. George Akume is a son of whom we are all pleased and proud in Benue State. He has never disappointed us and would not. He has never turned us down on any request taken to him, and we know he wouldn’t on this.
“Please give room for the already existing mutual political understanding between the two tribes in Benue State.
“We are calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through our son, Sen. George Akume, to consider Dr. Raymond Edoh, an Idoma man, to take over the ministerial slot for Benue State. He has worked hard for the party and is still working hard, and he should be given a chance to serve in that capacity”.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
