By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
There is disquiet among leaders of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) following moves by some top members of the body to oust the organization’s president, Dr. Bitrus Pogu.
Sources told PeopleandPolitics.net that the bone of contention appears two-pronged: an alleged N2 billion donation by former Defence Minister and influential nationalist, Gen. T.Y. Danjuma, who hails from Taraba state in the Middle Belt of Nigeria; as well as where the region’s 2027 political ship will berth.
On the latter, the options of Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 poll, Mr Peter Obi, and the presidential flag bearer of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the same poll, Atiku Abubakar, are top and may have split the regional body down the middle.
Both Obi and Abubakar have not publicly declared their intention to run in 2027, but, obviously, their supporters and admirers have begun doing behind-the-scenes groundwork. While Obi hails from the South-East zone, Abubakar, more popularly known as Atiku by his supporters, is from the North-East zone.
MBF had been gripped by strong rumour of a plot to remove Dr. Pogu from office at the body’s General Congress reportedly scheduled for January, 2025.
Those working for his exit accused Dr. Pogu of financial misconduct in the handling of the alleged N2 billion which, they claimed, was meant for the body’s activities.
But, reacting to these in an interview with our correspondent, Dr. Pogu disclosed that Gen. Danjuma expressed disgust when information on the turmoil arising from the donation reached him.
According to Pogu, Gen. Danjuma declared before a leading member of MBF elders forum that he (Pogu) “Is not going anywhere and nobody can push him out.”
It would be recalled that an influential member of MBF, Rev. Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa, had circulated a written document to some MBF members, including Dr. Pogu, alleging that there were several complaints against the latter by some members concerning the running of MBF and its finances.
The statement, made available to our correspondent, read, in part: “Please with due respect Sir, there’s lot complaints against you by some Middle Belt members concerning your office in Middle Belt Forum and financial misconduct that: (1) Gen. TY Danjuma gave N2b for the activities of the Middle Belt but you did not account for the N2b.
“(2) The Middle Belt Forum youths have a programme of giving awards to some former Governors, former Senators including SGF and former Senate President.
“But you people (Pogu & co) didn’t give them even one Naira to help the youth in their programme, only Madam Deborah that gave them N10k and you left the programme to Yola…”
Responding to these, Dr. Pogu revealed that a top official of the elders’ forum even reported the matter to Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin K. Clark.
He said: “So, all they said was that I will have to be kicked out by January, and they created the story.
“In creating the story, when I met the elders yesterday (last week), I said ‘the shameless person who said TY gave me money…the Governor, not even TY Danjuma, because they know my relationship with the TY is totally different, created the story’.
“Little did I know that before I came to meet them, the chairman of the elders forum told them that when he told the General TY about this story, the General said I am not going anywhere, and nobody can push me out.”
Pogu added: “If General TY is telling them this, could he would have given me money which I squandered? The Governor who wants me out so that someone from PDP will be in, is the one who donated only N3 million.
“So I addressed them and said ‘look, there are so many things I don’t talk but today I’ll talk: That Governor was given multi-millions of Naira to run his election.
“‘Here is somebody from Gombe; he was only given some money which is a fraction of what that Governor got, but he gave the MBF N30 million; that’s why we didn’t seek for money from anywhere else.
“‘I think he is here, seated’. Then I said ‘go and tell your Governor, that when we meet in front of the General, the game will be over’.
“So I know the people doing these kinds of story. I know what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. It’s PDP people.
“Last year, 2023, they tried and tried, that we went for Obi, and they feel if I’m around, their game will still fail. So let them do anything they can do to stampede me out of office, and they are going to pay for it; don’t worry.
But I want to know the people responsible.
“Let me give you another example. Last year before elections, I requested that the General TY Danjuma give money to people who are contesting and he did gave.
“They thought the money was passing through me to them, till when I called the guy and said ‘come, meet me in front of the elders’. I said ‘when that money was paid…yes, I requested for money to be given to you, was it given to me to forward to you or paid directly to you? And he said ‘it was paid directly to me’, and I now said ‘what’s my own business?’
“So what’s my business about that? But what I need are the people who are peddling the rumours. I know it is political. All they’re after is if I’m there, what they’ll want to do for PDP will not happen. And maybe Atiku will not be there, if he wants to run again, because I’ll not support it.
“If we still decide to go for Obi, we’ll lift Obi’s hands again and say ‘this is our candidate’.
“I don’t care what they say and those people who are peddling this whatever story, if the General will tell them that I am going nowhere and nobody is pushing me, do they know me more than the General?”
Asked to comment further on the N2 billion allegation, Dr. Pogu said: “Don’t worry, let them peddle it but who are they? This is what I need from you.
“It’s somebody who told Pastor Musa Dikwa.
“And they cooked up the story and let Pastor Musa Dikwa be the one to spread it. They joined the story with that event of the youth, that I refused to chair the programme and went to Yola. I went to Yola because I want a Muslim face to appear at that youth programme and my deputy is a Muslim.
“So, it is some people within our organization who are behind all these.”
The MBF president said he would meet with Gen. Danjuma.
Dr. Pogu further said: “So, the issue is that the General must have been aware, and told the other lower Generals that ‘you dare not’. So if they’re the ones peddling it, fine, but I don’t think the other Generals will do that.
“Musa Dikwa is among those who want me out, to be in. I myself circulated the statement from Dikwa to others to know who are behind it. First, Dikwa did not know there was going to be a youth programme. Second, Dikwa doesn’t know whether or not money was given to me or anything.
“It means somebody from our team must have concocted the story and given to Dikwa.”
Dr. Pogu gave kudos to his team’s efforts in bringing Middle Belt issues to the front-burner of national discourse, recalling that such was not the case previously, particularly among some sections of the country.
To him, matters relating to the zone are now taken seriously more than ever before.
His words: “Before, Middle Belt issues would be waved by the side by some sections of the country when it is mentioned, but now nobody can say Middle Belt does not exist.
“If you know any of the elders, you call him and find out what TY Danjuma’s reaction had been before they started, sort of telling them not to dare (remove Pogu)”