The Benue State House of Assembly has taken a firm stance by rejecting one of the nominees for membership in the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission.
Vincent Gisaor’s nomination was turned down on Thursday, following allegations of him insulting the Tiv tribe through a Facebook post.
Governor Hyacinth Alia had submitted a list of eight nominees for screening, including Gisaor, a few days ago. The other nominees are Dr. John Chen (Chairman), Terhemen Shom, Theodore Uchi, Solomon Deva, Edache Isaac, Gloria Clement, and Peter Ogagbolo.
During Thursday’s plenary session, Cephas Dyako, the representative for Konshisha State Constituency, brought attention to Gisaor’s Facebook post. Dyako revealed that the nominee had made derogatory remarks about the Tiv ethnic group in the state, specifically using offensive language in the Tiv dialect.
Dyako shared with the House, “Mr. Gisaor referred to all the Tiv people as ‘your nyash’ in his post, which I find highly disrespectful coming from someone in his position.”
According to Dyako, despite receiving advice from a commenter to delete the post and apologize, Gisaor refused to do so. When asked to explain himself, Gisaor stated that during a confrontation between the Yarev and Ikparev people of Tyo-mu in the Makurdi Local Government Area, he encountered an elderly woman who used derogatory language towards the Tiv people while speaking with him.
Gisaor clarified, “I was simply quoting the woman, but unfortunately, the recording I made of her response when I asked about the cause of the fight got deleted from the post.”
However, the lawmakers remained unconvinced by Gisaor’s explanation. In a unanimous agreement, all the lawmakers who participated in the debate concluded that the nominee was unsuitable for such a public office and urged the House not to confirm his nomination.
In response, Speaker Hyacinth Dajoh emphasized that the nominee had not quoted anyone in the Facebook post, suggesting that the content expressed Gisaor’s personal opinion. Consequently, the Speaker requested the governor to nominate another candidate in place of Gisaor.
Ultimately, out of the seven nominees, only Terhemen Shom received confirmation. The House required the other six members to submit their curriculum vitae, including detailed records of their educational qualifications, for further screening.