Irigwe Killings: Honourable Haruna Maitala Replies Open Letter, Says it is Malicious

By Our Reporter

House of Representatives member representing Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency, Honourable Haruna Maitala has replied an open letter written by one Redzie D. Jugo and published in one of the national dailies describing the open letter as “spurious, misplaced and malicious” saying that it was aimed at assassinating his character.

He said that the security and welfare of the good people of Jos North/Bassa constituency was paramount to him and is taking several actions towards ensuring that the killings in Irigwe land is ended.

He noted that part of his efforts towards a peaceful Irigwe land was his visit and discussions with the leaders including the paramount ruler of the Irigwe nation and other key stakeholders.

He said that he believed in peace and has lived all his life pursuing peaceful ventures stressing that he has constantly expressed disenchantment over the continued unabated killings in not only Irigwe Community, but in Plateau State and Nigeria in general. He has also constantly registered his deep-seated heartfelt sympathy to the victims of these attacks.

He described as laughable, a purported quotation ascribed to him by Mr. Jugu alleged to have been published by The Daily Nigerian on 13/04/2020 where he was alledged to have alluded to what is happening in his constituency, “to be a clash or a dog fight between ethnic groups”.

The statement said, “As far as the Hon. Member is concerned, the said interview and the statement credited to him only exists in the figment of Mr. Jugu’s imagination as he never granted interview to the medium under reference not to talk of making that statement.”

In the statement issued and signed by Mr Joseph A., Adudu, Media Consultant to Hon. Haruna Maitala (Turakin Jere), member representing Jos North/Bassa Fed. Constituency, in the National Assembly, he described as unfortunate, the allegegation that the Honourable does not engage with his consistuents.

“It is laughable to read that Mr. Jugu was constrained to opt for the media to ventilate his view because Hon. Maitala has no functional office or had regular town hall meetings. From the above, Mr. Jugu has acknowledged that Hon. Maitala has a constituency office (of course, which is at No. 29, Murtala Mohammed Way, Jos, Jos North LGA) and has been having town hall meetings. However, the functionality of the office and the periodic nature of the town-hall meetings seem to be his concern. He has however, failed to tell the public the requirement to make a functional constituency office nor did he suggest a template for regular town-hall meetings.”

Maitala said that the Open Letter was counterproductive as it vilified the hardworking security agents who are working assidously to bring the attacks to an end.

“This is an indictment on the OPSH suggesting that it needed to be reminded of its responsibility because it has not been living up to it. Also, it is another deliberate ploy to portray the Hon. Member in bad light before the vulnerable. This is more worrisome when one considers the fact that Mr. Jugu queried the Hon. Member four days after the OPSH commander, Major-General Chukwuemeka Okonkwo revealed approaches to end lingering crises in the state after his visits to traditional rulers including the paramount ruler of the Irigwe nation on April 26, 2020. Several news sources quoted a press statement by the spokesman of the OPSH, Major Shittu Alao thus:
‘Major-General Okonkwo stressed during his visit, that the Fulani and Irigwe communities in the state have vowed to embrace peace, calling on the public to cooperate with the OPSH by giving relevant and timely information to sustain its operation against banditry and other criminal activities in the state.’”

Adudu said that Maitala’s victory at the polls was divine and applauded the team that worked with him.

“It is instructive to note that Hon. Maitala’s victory at the polls was made possible by the Almighty through a team of committed people. Throughout the campaign period, none of them expressed desire of personal interest but rather, were all committed to the ideals and philosophy of the “LEGACY MOVEMENT” aimed at delivering dividends of democracy to the constituents. They are still committed to that cause.
Hon. Maitala believes that power comes from God. He is also luminously conscious that all of us will one day give account of our deeds to God and therefore, not keen in name writing in gold by humans.

“Hon. Maitala believes that no society can make meaningful progress under violence and criminality. He is of the view that we must not leave any stone unturned as we seek to find a comprehensive solution to the peculiar dynamics of our human existence.

“Hon. Haruna Maitala always holds that as a people who believe in God (irrespective of religious affiliation), we must underscore our common humanity as we seek to find within the dictates of our faith, those essentials that define us as human beings irrespective of ethnic or tribal differences.”

The Honourable concluded that he would not stop working towards a peaceful Plateau and Nigeria despite the campaign of calumny against him while promising the good people of Jos North/Bassa constituency a qualitative representation.