Group warns money-bag politicians against using Church for political blackmails

A group under the aegis of Kunav Progressive Academics has warned money-bag politicians under the disguise of  Coalition of Gubernatorial Aspirants from Vandeikya Local Government not to use the Church as a political tool to target perceived enemies for political blackmails.

The University dons, who were reacting to a petition dated February 27, 2026, addressed to the Catholic Bishops of Gboko, Otukpo, Makurdi, and Katsina-Ala which they alleged was authored by a group called “Coalition of Gubernatorial Aspirants (From Vandeikya Local Government Area, against governor Hyacinth Alia, described the petition as baseless, a brazen display of hypocrisy and shame.

According to them, “all signatories to the petition have a track record of failure, incompetence, and corruption that renders them unfit for the office of the governor”.

The Academics” Group, which comprised over 35 Professors who made their views known through Daniel Chile, Secretary and Elijah Ikpanor, Convenor, said, “we are before you today not as politicians, not as apologists for any administration, but as academics, researchers, and stakeholders from Kunav extraction who are deeply committed to the truth, the development of Benue State, and the integrity of our sacred institutions.

“We have called this press conference in reaction to a petition dated February 27, 2026, addressed to Catholic Bishops, and circulated on the public space, authored by “Coalition of Gubernatorial Aspirants (From Vandeikya Local Government Area)”, and signed by Godwin Ityoachimin, Joseph Waya, Dominic Ucha, Paul Angya, Denis Ityavyar, and  Terhemba Shija against the governor

“As academics trained in the art of critical analysis, we read that document with a deep sense of disappointment. What we found was not a genuine pastoral concern, but a carefully scripted political manifesto disguised as a religious complaint. We found half-truths presented as facts, metaphors twisted into malice, and ambition dressed in the garb of piety”

The metaphorical language attributed to the governor, specifically during a thanksgiving Mass regarding “biting fingers” and “beheading,” is a deliberate and malicious misinterpretation of indigenous rhetoric.

“In Tiv socio-political discourse, such proverbial expressions are traditionally used to emphasise the need for resilience, vigilance, and self-defense against political persecution. To equate these idioms with a literal endorsement of violence is intellectually dishonest or a sign of a weak grasp of Tiv communication nuances.

“The Misrepresentation of the Tsenge Incident
The petitioners’ account of the event at All Saints Catholic Church in Tsenge on January 18, 2026, is a classic case of taking words out of context to manufacture outrage. Governor Alia was not delivering a political campaign speech; he was addressing the congregation and his well-wishers during the Thanksgiving ceremony, a cultural and religious event in which it is customary for the guest of honour to offer exhortations”, the Group noted.

Furthermore, the governor was responding to years of documented political persecution, targeted attacks, and institutional sabotage by certain vested interests who feel threatened by his administration’s anti-corruption stance.

The group also lamented about the August 2025 Incident wher the petitioners referenced an incident at St. George Catholic Church,Tyobo regarding the Ter Gboko, saying the real context is missing, because the Governor has consistently advocated for respect for constituted traditional authority. If there were tensions, they were matters of political realignment and local governance, not threats issued from the pulpit. To frame routine political interaction as “intimidation” is a stretch designed to fit a pre-determined narrative of victimhood.

“We submit that the true desecration of sacred space is not the Governor’s attendance at Mass, where he is entitled to worship as a Catholic, but the act of reducing church gatherings to a venue for filing political petitions. The Vandeikya aspirants have used the Church’s name and the letterhead of a religious complaint to pursue a naked political agenda”, it added.