BY PETER DURU
MAKURDI—Wives of traditional rulers in Benue State Sunday condemned spate of political violence rocking the state, describing the situation as a deliberate impediment to socio-economic development.

The women under the aegis of Forum of Wives of Traditional Rulers, FOWTR, lamented that some politicians who lost elections in the state were not willing to accept defeat and had rather adopted unconstitutional means to achieve their aims.

They, however, pleaded that such election losers should challenge their defeat in court, instead of heating up the polity, thereby making the state ungovernable.

Speaking during their solidarity visit on the Wife of the Benue State Governor, Mrs Yemisi Suswam in Makurdi, the women through their leader Mrs. Phoebe Biam said “our politicians should learn to be good losers, that is the only way we can enthrone an egalitarian society in our state and country at large”.

They then urged all Benue State women to rally round the Gabriel Suswam led administration in it’s quest to deliver democratic dividends to the generality of the people of the state as according to them, “his administration is a product of our unity of purpose and resilience to ensure that a government that performed beyond our expectations in it’s first tenure was roundly supported to victory at the last election in the interest of sustainable growth and development of our state”.

In her remarks, Mrs Suswam counseled the women on the need to properly inform and educate their children and husbands to shun any politician that would want to use them to perpetrate violence in any part of the state.

’’It behoves on us as mothers to ensure that peace reigns in our state and country because in the absence of peace and tranquility no community or state can make progress; and we all know that in a state of chaos it is we, the women and children that suffer more; that is the more reason why we must resist anything that will deprive us of our much cherished peace.

”We must not allow any politician use our children and husbands to unleash mayhem in our communities just for their personal and selfish gains. Take this message to all the women in our state”, Mrs. Suswam added.

She, however, assured the wives of paramount rulers of the continued support of the administration to the course of women especially in the provision of necessary farming imputes to aid food production in the state.