Com. Onjeh Congratulates Prof. Utsev On Swearing-in As Minister

*Please can you tell us your purpose for being here?*

Obviously, I came to felicitate with my brother and the ministerial nominee from my state, Prof. Joseph Utsev, on his successful swearing-in today as the Honourable Minister of Water Resources & Sanitation.

*But it appears you were prominently amongst those fingered to be the likely ministerial nominee from Benue State. How does it feel, now that you didn’t get the ministerial slot in the end?*

You should know that the ministerial position wasn’t’ an electoral contest, so my expectations were very limited in the first instance. I knew that the buck stops at the President’s table to decide who would be a part of his cabinet, and Mr. President has decided. So it doesn’t matter what anybody feels, the fact remains that Prof. Utsev is our minister. No matter how much I’d wished to serve in President Tinubu’s cabinet, he has made his choice, and it doesn’t alter my commitment to supporting the success of the administration. I don’t have to be in the Federal Cabinet to support President Tinubu, I can be anywhere and still support him.

*We are aware that you are also at the Electoral Petitions Tribunal regarding your last election.*

Yes. My petition at the Tribunal has been reserved for judgment.

*And what are your expectations?*

Well, it will be subjudice for me to mention anything on the case at this stage. We have done our best to prove our case; it’s left for the judges to give their verdict. So we are awaiting the judgment.

*So what is the implication of your being here today? Because we are aware that your kinsmen agitated that the ministerial slot should be conceded to the Idoma-speaking parts of Benue State, and they pushed so hard that one might have feared it would strain the relationship between the Tivs and the Idomas.*

No, not exactly! What my people did was not new. In politics, it’s normal for people to aggregate their interest and to push it. I quite commend the Idoma elites and elders that agitated for the ministerial position, particularly those who went about their agitation in a decent, modest and diplomatic manner. But it’s all over now. We can’t hit our target all of the time; and somebody must be there. My people tried to push their common interest, but the President in his wisdom, settled for a Tiv man. That doesn’t mean that Mr. President doesn’t like the Idoma people. He probably has his own reasons, so it’s logical for us to embrace the choice that Mr. President has made. Constitutionally, there must be one minister from each state and unfortunately, we from Benue State had only one ministerial slot this time around, and we must embrace our own. Prof. Utsev is not the minister of only the Tiv people; he is the Minister representing the whole of Benue State in the Federal Cabinet.

*So what is your message to your people, now that you are here?*

My message to my people is that they should wholeheartedly accept, embrace, support and pray for the success of Prof. Utsev. That’s what is expected of every patriotic Nigerian at this time, and it’s in line with the Holy Scriptures. Benue State, and especially Benue South, is currently facing serious challenges with water, sanitization and the environment. Some of my people still drink sometimes from dirty, stagnant ponds! Fortunately for us, the minister representing our state has been assigned to the Ministry of Water Resources & Sanitation. So we are very glad that that portfolio has come to Benue State. The portfolio has not been given to only Prof. Utsev. That’s what the Benue South people must understand. Therefore, let’s tap from it and present our issues. Politics is about negotiations; and gives-and-takes. At least now, we have the opportunity that one of our own is heading the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation.

Indeed, we have the River Benue, yet many of our communities lack potable drinking water. Prof. Utsev will preside over a sensitive ministry which will better the lot of the Benue people. With our man at the helm of affairs of the Ministry of Water Resources, I believe we can explore further, the benefits of the water resources that God has blessed our state with. Let’s see what we can achieve from there, you know!

Besides the water crisis in the state, we have acute shortage of sanitation infrastructure in many of our urban, semi-urban and rural areas. We have also been talking about the possibility of a Deep Sea Port in Benue State; this may be our opportunity to actualize it. There’s a whole lot more that we can achieve in terms of irrigation agriculture, you know. So it’s high time we looked forward to what we can achieve, now that one of our own is heading the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation. Regardless of which tribe we are, we should look forward to what our people will gain from the deliverables of Prof. Utsev’s stewardship of the nation’s Water and Sanitation Sector. Our prayer should be that he should succeed, as that will translate to the optimum utilization of Benue’s only ministerial slot, for the gain of her people and by extrapolation, Nigeria at large.

*We noticed earlier that you were exchanging whispers with the Honourable Minister. Can you hint us at what you were discussing with him?*

Nothing other than the congratulations and best wishes for his success in office; we needed to come that close to hear ourselves in the hall you know.