Former Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Hyacinth Dajoh, has alleged that Governor Hyacinth Alia compelled him to resign from office after he rejected a plan to relocate the palace of the Tor Tiv from Gboko.
Dajoh, who represented Gboko West Constituency, made the claim while addressing journalists on Monday in Makurdi. He was elected Speaker of the 10th Assembly on June 5, 2023.
According to Dajoh, tensions between him and the governor escalated after he opposed what he described as “a politically motivated move” to move the traditional seat of the Tiv paramount ruler from Gboko, the ancestral headquarters of the Tiv nation, to the governor’s hometown.
“The pressure to support the relocation of the Tor Tiv palace was intense. I made it clear that the palace is a cultural and historical institution that belongs in Gboko. My refusal to endorse that plan is the real reason I was forced out of office,” Dajoh said.
The former Speaker did not specify when he resigned or provided details of how the alleged coercion occurred. However, he insisted that his exit was not voluntary but the result of sustained political pressure from the executive.
The Tor Tiv palace, located in Gboko, serves as the official residence and seat of authority of the paramount ruler of the Tiv people. Gboko has historically been regarded as the traditional and cultural headquarters of the Tiv nation.
Efforts to reach Tersoo Kula, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Alia, for a response were unsuccessful as of press time. Calls and text messages to his phone were not returned.
Dajoh’s tenure as Speaker was marked by a sometimes-frosty relationship with the executive arm, with disagreements over legislative autonomy and constituency projects. His resignation, when it occurred, had been officially framed as being for “personal reasons.”
Political observers say the allegation, if substantiated, could deepen existing debates over the separation of powers in the state and the role of traditional institutions in Benue politics.
The Office of the Tor Tiv has yet to issue an official statement on the alleged relocation plan.
