By: Amb. Valentine Adese (JP),
The Berom Nation in Plateau State Nigeria has submitted its Complaint Document to the Committee saddled with the responsibility of addressing the issues that have arisen out of the 2015 Upgrade and Creation of Chiefdoms, Districts, and Village Areas.
The Berom Nation in their Complaint Document have strongly expressed their pains over the 2015 exercise and the way the Gbong Gwom Jos stool was treated by the Government letter that was gazetted.
You would recall that the Gbong Gwong Jos stool has remained a revered stool in the state and the country at large.
Speaking to inquisitive Jouranlists at the Secretariat of the Committee, the venue where the Complaint Document was submitted, Hon. Edward Pwajok (SAN) reiterated that the Gbong Gwom Jos stool had been treated, acknowledged, and accorded its respect until the 2015 sad exercise.
HON. EDWARD PWAJOK (SAN) FLANKED
He said, “The question is, what then is the fate of the Gbong Gwom Jos stool in the 2015 exercise?”
Adding that, “This question is necessary because, before that communication from Government, the Gbong Gwom Jos had been treated and acknowledged and accorded his respect as the Chairman of the Traditional Council, whether in Jos North, whether in Riyom, whether in Barkin-Ladi, whether in Jos South.
“This is because all these four Local Governments are the territory of the Gbong Gwom Jos.
“Let me add this: some of our neighbours have taken us to Court previously in 2002, after the death of Dr. Fom Bot, the then Bong Gwom Jos. May his soul rest in peace!
“They said the stool of Gbong Gwom Jos should be relocated away from Jos North because the Berom people are not in Jos North. To cut a long story short, the High Court presided over by Hon. Justice Yargata Nimper (as she then was), held that the stool of the Bong Gwom Jos extends and covers Jos North, Jos South, Barkin-Ladi, and Riyom.
“That is the Judgment of the High Court. No one appealed against that Judgment. This means that the stool is in all these four (4) Local Government Areas (LGAs).
EDWARD PWAJOK SAN TALKING
“Let me further add, the Bong Gwong Jos stool, was elevated to First Class status in 1970. It was only in 2018 that the Government purported to upgrade the stool of Ujah Anaguta to First Class, with that of Attah Aten.
“By Government Law, it is the most Senior Chief in any LGA, that assumes the leadership of the Traditional Council of that LG.
“So, the question is: Is Ujah Anaguta who was made First Class in 2018, and same with Attah Aten, now senior to the Gbong Gwom Jos who was made First Class in 1970? You know the answer.
“And is the Governor, who was a party, and was the 1st Defendant in the case instituted against the Berom, when the High Court said: “No, the Gbong Gwong Jos stool is also in Jos North, in Riyom and other Local Governments”, pretending not to be aware? Is the Government now pretending that it does not know of the decision(s) of that Judgment?
“Well, we have come here as law-abiding citizens, as lovers of peace, and we have written down of complaints before the Committee. You can see it there!
“So, the question we want Government to answer is has Government now changed the law? Even if they have changed the law, they cannot rewrite history.
“The history is that the Gbong Gwom Jos stool came first before any other stool in Plateau State. So, that stool must be accorded its seniority and proper status”.
SEE SOME OTHER PICTURES FROM THE EVENT BELOW:
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