Abba Moro wants to use Apa State to win third term in 2027 – Benue Deputy Speaker, Lami

Benue Deputy Speaker, Lami Ogenyi, has fired back at Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, accusing him of using the agitation for the creation of Apa State to bolster his campaign for a third term.

Ogenyi’s response comes after Moro accused her of refusing to support the movement for Apa State, a proposed new state from present-day Benue State.

This accusation was made during a recent virtual meeting with Idomas in the diaspora, where Moro revealed that he had sent a draft for the creation of Apa State to the constitution review committee.

He noted that the draft received endorsements from nine local government chairmen in the senatorial district and ⅔ of the Benue State House of Assembly members, but Ogenyi, who represents Ado State Constituency, declined to sign.

Moro’s comments have sparked outrage among the Idoma people, who accused Ogenyi of betraying her constituency due to party politics.

In response, Ogenyi issued a statement on Friday, describing Moro’s accusations as false and misleading.

“The Idoma people should know that Senator Moro has never called the Deputy Speaker since she assumed office nor responded to her several calls for synergy for development. It was one Francis Ijiga who sent a message to the Deputy Speaker’s WhatsApp number, which read: ‘Please go through the memo above, snap your signature specimen, and send it to me through this WhatsApp number to enable us to use it on the original hard copy to be submitted in Abuja.’”

Ogenyi explained that the memo did not include her name, constituency, or office among those who were supposed to sign it, which made her suspicious of the motives behind the request.

“The Deputy Speaker wonders why she should sign on a piece of paper for an unknown person when the Senator has her number and office address. She became suspicious of the moves to tarnish her image and that of her party leader in the state, the Executive Governor of Benue, His Excellency Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, whom the Senator is fighting.”

Ogenyi asserted that she supports the creation of Apa State through genuine means, not through proxy and media propaganda, as she accused Moro of using the issue to campaign for himself and his preferred candidate for 2027.

“All Idoma should disregard the senator’s statement as mere rhetoric of politics and nothing more than a campaign of calumny,” she concluded.