Rep Member Decries Mischievous Publication by Some Reckless Igede Youths

Hon. Evang. David Agada Ogewu, Member representing Oju/Obi Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives

The Member representing Oju/Obi Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Evang. David Agada Ogewu, has condemned in strong terms a mischievous and defamatory publication circulating on social and online media platforms against him.

The publication, allegedly signed by Comrade Andyson Iji Egbodo and Smith Akoko under the banner of a self-acclaimed and unrecognized group known as the Igede Youth Council, was titled “Benue Youths Caution Lawmaker Over Reckless Comments.”

In a statement issued by his media office, The Liberation Media, and titled:REJOINDER: HON. OGEWU’S COMMENTS GROSSLY MISREPRESENTED BY MISCHIEF MAKERS — A CLARIFICATION FROM THE LIBERATION MEDIA,it described the publication as “a calculated attempt to malign the hard-earned reputation of Rt. Hon. Ogewu and to mislead the unsuspecting public.”

According to the statement, the vast majority of the people of Oju/Obi Federal Constituency in Benue State remain proud of Hon. Ogewu’s exemplary representation and numerous achievements within his two years in office.

The statement emphasized that no amount of blackmail or propaganda can sway the people’s confidence in his leadership, as he continues to deliver tangible development and effective representation.

The release further noted that the constituents have consistently commended Hon. Ogewu for his selfless commitment to community development, recalling that he had executed several impactful projects with his personal resources even before being urged to contest for the seat he currently occupies.

The statement also highlighted Hon. Ogewu’s remarkable efforts in improving security within the constituency. Through his intervention and lobbying, a Forward Military Operations Base was established in Oju/Obi, restoring peace and stability to Igede land a feat that had eluded the area before his assumption of office.

Furthermore, Oju/Obi Federal Constituency has, through Hon. Ogewu’s strategic engagement and lobbying, benefited immensely from the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. These include federal road projects, rural electrification schemes, motorized boreholes, solar installations, hospital equipment supplies to the two general hospitals, youth empowerment initiatives, and other unprecedented interventions in the history of the constituency.

Refuting the false claims circulated by the so-called Igede Youth Council, the statement clarified that:“Hon. David Agada Ogewu, himself a youth and a consistent advocate of youth inclusion in governance, never referred to the Igede youths as fools. His remarks were directed specifically at a few misguided individuals who, out of insensitivity, organized a protest against Senator Abba Moro barely 48 hours after the senator tragically lost his two beloved sons. Hon. Ogewu merely described the actions of those individuals as ‘foolish and lacking empathy,’ not the entire youth population of Igede.”

For the record, the statement affirmed that there is no legally recognized youth organization in Oju/Obi Federal Constituency known as the Igede Youth Council. If such a group exists at all, it does so illegally and solely to advance the narrow political interests of its sponsors, and therefore cannot claim to represent the genuine voice or aspirations of the well-meaning Igede youths who have always stood for unity, peace, and development in Igede land.

The media office therefore urged the people of Igede, particularly constituents of Oju/Obi Federal Constituency, to disregard the said publication and any similar statements or actions attributed to the so-called Igede Youth Council, describing them as null, void, and of no effect.

“We call on security agencies to take note of this persistent campaign of falsehood and incitement, and to hold the authors accountable under relevant laws for defamation and public mischief,” the statement added.

The statement reads in full:

𝐑𝐄𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑: 𝐇𝐎𝐍. 𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐖𝐔’𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐅 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐑𝐒—𝐀 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀

The attention of the Liberation Media, the official communication arm of 𝗥𝘁. 𝗛𝗼𝗻. 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗴. 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗱𝗮 𝗢𝗴𝗲𝘄𝘂, Member representing the good people of Oju/Obi Federal Constituency, has been drawn to a mischievous publication circulating on social and online media platforms, particularly Daily Post of November 5, 2025, titled “𝑩𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝑪𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑳𝒂𝒘𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔.”

The said publication, signed by one Comrade Andyson Iji Egbodo and Smith Akoko under the banner of a self-acclaimed and illegal group known as the Igede Youth Council, is nothing but a calculated attempt to malign the hard-earned reputation of Rt. Hon. Ogewu and to mislead the unsuspecting public.

For the avoidance of doubt and in the interest of truth, we wish to state as follows:

1. 𝗥𝘁. 𝗛𝗼𝗻. 𝗢𝗴𝗲𝘄𝘂 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗴𝗲𝗱𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝘀.
   Rt. Hon. David Agada Ogewu, a youth himself and a consistent advocate for youth inclusion, never referred to the Igede youths as fools. His comments were specifically directed at a few misguided individuals who, out of insensitivity, embarked on a protest against Senator Abba Moro—barely 48 hours after the senator lost his two beloved sons. Hon. Ogewu merely described the protest organizers and their actions as “foolishness and lacking empathy,” not the entire youth of Igede population.
2. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝘀 ‘𝗜𝗴𝗲𝗱𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹
   For the records, there is no youth group known and recognized in Oju/Obi Federal Constituency as Igede youth council. If at all, the so-called group exists only to serve the selfish political interests of their sponsors and cannot claim to represent the voice or aspirations of the Igede youth in general, especially the good loving youth who has always stand for the good of Igede land. As such, any publication, statement, or actions credited to the said group should be disregarded as a nullity by the general public, especially the constituents of Oju/Obi Federal Constituency that Hon. Ogewu represents in the House of Representatives.
3. 𝗔 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝘆𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗴𝗯𝗼𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗸𝗼𝗸𝗼.
   We hereby caution Andyson Iji Egbodo and Smith Akoko to desist from allowing themselves to be used as pawns by politicians who thrive on division and mischief to scuttle the good works being carried out by 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆, 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝘄𝗮𝗷𝘂 𝗕𝗼𝗹𝗮 𝗔𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗯𝘂, 𝗚𝗖𝗙𝗥, 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓-𝒊𝒏-𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒐𝒇 𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂 in Oju/Obi federal constituency through the lobbying power of Hon. David Ogewu which include federal roads, Electrification, motorized boreholes, supply of hospital equipments to the two general hospitals Solar, empowerments, and numerous other interventions which has never happened in the history of Oju/Obi Federal Constituency.

That President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR was present on the 6th September 2025 Igede Agba celebration and Empowerment through representation by the secretary to the government of the federation, Senator George Akume in September 6, 2025 is still a big plus to the Igede nation, but unfortunately, that visit of the presidency and empowerment which is a great recognition of the Igede nation led by Hon. Ogewu has become a bitter-pill that is giving these enemies of Igede development and their paymasters sleepless nights, and are therefore bent on destroying the legacies of honourable Ogewu and the presidency by all means.

It is on record that Andyson Egbodo sought the opinion of Hon. Ogewu a day after the protest was carried out, and the honourable gentleman did not mince words in expressing his displeasure. First, as the political leader of Igede nation, he asked Andyson if they had met the traditional rulers, LGAs chairmen, and the three state assembly members over the road, and his answer was ‘No’. That prompted Hon. Ogewu to tell Andyson that it was wrong not to hear from the Igede political leaders first, including himself who was neither notified before going ahead with the protest.

Second, that the timing was highly wrong and lacked empathy as the major target of the protest, Senator Abba Moro had just lost his two beloved sons, especially when it is public knowledge that a budgetary allocation had been secured by Senator Moro for that road pending in 2025 budget when funded.

Hon. Ogewu also reminded Andyson that he, honourable Ogewu was the first to raise a motion of urgent importance on the need for the construction of the neglected roads in Oju/Obi federal constituency which includes this particular Otukpo-Obi-Oju road upon his assumption of office in 2023, to which the president has graciously allocated funds for Oju-Cross-river road construction with massive work ongoing and lots of efforts also made on the Otukpo-Obi-Oju road.

Hon. Ogewu further drew Andyson’s attention to the fact that, prior to his election, as an individual, he embarked on community development projects, notably, the Ugbogo bridge construction, drilling of several boreholes amongst others, advising that if the government delays in carrying out the much needed reconstruction, the youths could have mobilized themselves and patch the sections of the road that are most deplorable for the time-being instead of embarking on the ill-timed protest.

In that conversation, Andyson Iji Egbodo aligned his opinion completely with that of Rt. Hon. Ogewu and condemned the action of the protesters in its entirety, calling them misguided youths with the promise to caution them against a repetition of such disgraceful act in the future.

How, all of a sudden, the same Andyson Iji Egbodo has become the cheerleader of those publicly blackmailing the hard earned reputation of Rt. Hon. Ogewu, manipulating a live video Hon. Ogewu made in good faith, cropping the said video to suite his bad intentions which can be viewed as criminal action and misinterpreting Hon. Ogewu’s good intentions concerning the Otukpo-Obi-Oju road is a question that begs for answers. This clearly shows a game of double standard carried out by Andyson and sponsored by politicians whose only interest is to heat up the polity for their own gains.

Their persistent acts of defamation and political blackmail against Hon. Ogewu are not only condemnable, but also have potential legal consequences should they continue on this treacherous path.

4. 𝗢𝗴𝗲𝘄𝘂’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗴𝗲𝗱𝗲’𝘀 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲.
   It must be emphasized that Hon. Ogewu’s rebuke stemmed from a deep concern for the image of the Igede nation. The timing of the protest, coming when Senator Abba Moro was in mourning, was viewed by many well-meaning Nigerians as insensitive. Indeed, several individuals from outside Oju/Obi Constituency personally called Hon. Ogewu to express their disappointment over the incident, describing it as unfeeling and untimely. His statement, therefore, was intended to protect the moral reputation of our people, not to insult them.

There is no doubt that the majority of the people of Oju/Obi federal constituency of Benue State are happy with Hon. Ogewu for his achievements so far within two years in office, and have continued to overwhelmingly praise the efforts of the honorable member for all the works he had done with his personal funds even before he was asked to contest for the position he now occupies. By the grace of God Almighty, Hon. Ogewu David has effectively managed the security situation in his federal constituency with the establishment of the forward military operations base in Oju/Obi federal constituency which has given us peace in our dear Igede land, unlike before he assumed office.

5. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀.
   We urge the general public, especially the people of Oju/Obi Federal Constituency, to completely disregard the baseless publication by these impostors. Their statements are nothing but the handiwork of political detractors desperate to incite dissaffection against Hon. Ogewu’s growing popularity and developmental strides.
6. 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗴𝗲𝗱𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.
   The Liberation Media on behalf of Rt. Hon. Ogewu sincerely appreciates the continued support, understanding, and prayers of the good people of Oju and Obi. Hon. Ogewu remains steadfast in his commitment to the progress, unity, and liberation of the Igede nation.

Rt. Hon. David Agada Ogewu has always stood for truth, justice, and the collective upliftment of his people. He will not be distracted by baseless propaganda or politically motivated falsehoods.