Prof. Dickson Akoh never bought car for Benue APC State Chairman, Comr. Abba Yaro

19/08/2021

The attention of Prof. Dickson Akoh has been drawn to the purported news making the rounds on social media about an arrest and recollection of a Jeep alleged to have been bought for APC State Chairman, Comrade Abba Yaro. This information is not only false, malicious, unfounded but a childish, calculated and deliberate attempt to whip up a non existing sentiment and to make a political capital out of nothing inorder to attracts undeserved empathy.

Prof. Akoh wouldn’t have dignified Comr. Abba Yaro and his hirelings with any response, but in order not to mislead and inundate the public with falsehood, hence this rejoinder.

The questions begging for answer at this point are;

I. Why was it not publicised by Comr. Abba Yaro and his co-travellers when the Jeep was given to him to aid his official function.

ii. Why did Comr. Abba Yaro concealed the letter written to him concerning this matter only to use the short letter addressed to the Area Commander and his short response on the social Media.

iii. Why didn’t he also attached the petition written on behalf of Prof. Akoh to the Commissioner of Police requesting that allegation by Comr. Abba Yaro that Prof. Akoh mobilized and sponsor some “cult” members to assassinate him?

To put the record straight, the scenarios that surrounded the recollection of the said jeep can only be understood by the two political actors.

Comr. Abba Yaro should come out clean and boldly too to tell the public if the said jeep was truly bought for him by Prof. Dickson Akoh or not or that the Jeep, out of empathy, was given to him to aid his movement when the state government was after him to retrieve the Prado jeep given to him and he had to go and hide his official jeep far away in Calabar. It was at the burial of the then Councilor of Adoka-Icho Ward that Comr. Abba arrived the venue of the funeral mass in a Starlet car and was struggling to come out of it. It was there and then that Prof. Akoh was moved with pity and told him to the hearing of key party stakeholders closed by that if there is an accident involving him with the car he was using, the outcome will be too tragic. At that point, the Prof. put a call to his house that the Jeep packed in his country home for domestic use be brought over to Adoka, this was complied within an hour and the Jeep was handed over to Comr. Yaro to aid his movement pending when he resolves his differences with the State Government.

It is also worthy of note that the Jeep was bought in the name of Prof. Dickson Akoh and was at any point transfer of ownership made to Comr. Abba Yaro. However, let it be known for record purposes and posterity sake that, as parts of his traditional empowerment program, Prof. Akoh has magnanimously bought over One Hundred Cars for youths, friends and associates across political, religious and ethnic affiliations. These cars from the source were all bought and documented in the names of the Beneficiaries. Prof. Akoh been mindful that he will be playing God has never under any circumstances retrieved any of those cars or thought of it whatsoever.

It is true that Prof. Dickson Akoh has done so much for the State Chairman, but concession of the Jeep to him was never part of the many favours done by Prof. Akoh to him. The fact that Prof. Akoh has not requested for the jeep since then doesn’t translate to gifting it to him.

Unknown to the public what transpired recently was that Comr. Abba is mindful of the fact that after his tenure as the Benue State Chairman of APC, the jeep will definitely be retrieved from him since it was given to him to aid his official function, therefore he cunningly through a proxy ( We will reserve the name for now) requested that Prof. Akoh write a transfer of ownership of the jeep to him. When the response of Prof. Akoh was not reassuring, he mischievously raised an alarm that arrangement has been perfected by Prof. Akoh to forcefully collect the jeep from him and for him to be assassinated by cult groups. This was on the day of the last stakeholders meeting held and presided over by the Leader of the party, His Excellency, Dr. George Akume. Despite the intervention of well meaning stakeholders of the party who advised Comr. Yaro against such sensitive and wide allegation on account that Prof. Akoh has over the years never been confrontational whatsoever, but use institutional means to seek redress against any form of injustices. The state chairman however continued to raise this wide and unsubstantiated allegation at every forum

Responding to the many misconceptions making the rounds on social media regarding what actually transpired between the two political actors. It is pertinent to state categorically how Comr. Abba Yaro led those he discribed as his “foot soldiers or “bad boys” in Makurdi, to Benue Metropolitan Hotel, the venue of the Benue state APC Ward Congress Appeal Panel, not only with the primary aim of disrupting the exercise but for them to maim and physically assault Prof. Dickson Akoh. This was evident when his “Thugs” broke loose, boasting of how they could pick Prof. Akoh from the venue without any hindrances. Before then, Comr. Abba Yaro had severely rained insults on the person of Prof. Dickson Akoh at the venue of the Ward Appeal to the point of ridiculing every of his magnanimous gesture towards him. Asides, while making presentation before the panel, Comr. Yaro also raised accusation on how arrangement has been perfected to have him assassinated by someone who mobilized cult boys from the Benue State University, Makurdi. It is therefore natural for him to have given up on some of the tangible gestures done to him by Prof. Akoh, hence he didn’t attach value to them.

Consequently, it was in view of these persistent allegation of an attempted assassination by Comr. Abba Yaro as well as it’s implications, legally and security wise that Prof. Akoh in order to clear his name engaged a lawyer to petition the Commissioner of Police so that the matter can be thoroughly investigated and appropriate action taken, also sensing the fact that Comr. Abba was not disposed to return the car, a letter was written by the lawyer detailing the background of how Prof. Akoh gave him the jeep with the request that it be returned. The letter and the copy of the petition over the threat to his life purportedly by Prof. Akoh addressed to the Commissioner of Police was delivered by a courier hours before the said jeep was returned by the Area Commander. The letter written to the police is ensure peaceful return of the vehicle devoid of any form of confrontation.

It is pertinent to restate here one fundamental question, when the Car was given to Comr. Abba Yaro for use, did he ask his social media handlers to make any acknowledging post on the social media appreciating Prof. Dickson Akoh? if truly the Car was gifted to him as he now alleged, why is he trying to use the social media to attract emotions of the Public? He deserves no pity or iota of sympathy.

Those not acquainted with past antecedence on similar issues should be guided before hastenly rushing into conclusion. If the Benue state government could retrieve a car given out, why won’t Prof. Dickson Akoh retrieve a Car he gave out to Comr. Abba Yaro for temporary use which he openly despised without conscience? It is also on record that Prof. Dickson Akoh himself, upon resignation as the Principal Special Adviser to the Governor, returned the official car given to him by the state government without any noise on the media.

I am fully aware that the tendencies by the outgoing APC State Chairman to resort to social media attack is calculated to mislead the public and tarnish the high reputation of Prof. Dickson Akoh as a kind-hearted Philanthropist that has impacted many lives. This emotion-seeking has never helped anyone with his kind of traits from the past. Comr. Yaro’s recent outburst and the unbearable attitude towards Prof. Akoh has political undertone and it is calculated to undermined Prof. Akoh’s Governorship aspiration as he has already pitch his tent with a particular aspirant, which is his inalienable right.

For those not acquainted with the magnanimity of Prof. Dickson Akoh towards Comr. Abba Yaro may be tempted to x their voices to his emotion-seeking without attempting to know the facts surrounding his display. The Car is just a tip of the Iceberg of what Prof. Dickson Akoh did for Comr. Abba Yaro without it slipping into the ears of a third party.

If Comrade Abba Yaro dare to deny these facts, then we shall be forced to bring out more of the things Prof. Akoh has done for him in a dossier, which shall form part two of this rejoinder.

Alechenu Stephen

Media Aide to Prof. Dickson Akoh