' Why Tsav is After Me'

Dr. Godwin Daboh, controversial Benue State politician and businessman

— Dr. Godwin Daboh, controversial Benue State politician and businessman
By Lateef Bamgbose, Abuja
You are being accused of attempts to dispossess the family of your late friend of their property, what is the real situation?
This is very funny. In 1993, I bought land from a late friend of mine, Wuese Jov, He was a very close friend then I came here to take possession of the land. I was then the chairman of Benue Cement Company (BCC). I was very busy, building a project in Jos and my farm in Akwanga which I bought from the Emir of Lafia, so I did not go there, I didn’t have anything to do with the land. When I came here in 2004, I met one security man, Yange Ugeh, he said I cannot enter there because He didn’t know him. I said no, I am the owner of the land (but) he said no. I came three times, the third time, when he insisted, I went to the B Division, here and reported to the Police, that I bought a piece of land, that the man has handed over the land to me and these are the documents of the land but one strange man there has insisted I should not enter the land. So they sent some Policemen to arrest the man with his wife. They were taken to B Division and detained there. The second day after they were detained, the Police called Wuese, he came to the station and said well, it was his fault that he is the person who should have informed the man, but he had not informed the man, but now that he was informing the man that he has sold the land to me.
If you are that close to the family, where is this allegation coming from?
It is one retired policeman, Abubakar Tsav, who is behind it, but it cannot work. Let me tell you what happened. Last year November, I was sitting here at the site of this construction when I saw the eldest of the Wuese’s children called Emmanuel Jov who was not even with the father; he didn’t even know anything the father was doing.
I never saw him throughout when I was with the father and our relationship spanned over 40 years. The person whom I was dealing with was the father’s younger brother who is aware of every transaction that took place here. Even when he died in 2004, nobody came here to challenge me, till last November. This is where I was sitting under this mango tree (site of the construction), when I saw the boy coming with two lawyers, lawyer Kur, and one of his colleagues. They came here and I asked what the problem was and the lawyers said they were representing the youngman. I should renegotiate with them, but I said he must be mad. What am I going to negotiate with you? A property I have been in possession of for 17 years and you said should re-negotiate with you? He said okay, let me do something for the family, I said as a mark of appreciation for what your father did for me, by selling this land to me, I will donate the sum of two million naira to the family, but take it, it is a donation. I am not paying for this land because I have finished everything with your father, he said okay sir, and he and his lawyers agreed. Then the lawyers wrote an agreement which I signed. And I issued them two cheques, post dated cheques. I then said it will not mature till 30th of December, because by then the governor sent somebody to come and witness the handover to the Estate Agent, Godwin Ike and Co, on the 12th of December, so I was hoping that by the end of December, people will rush in. But when all the traders came, they said sir, there is no water, there is no toilet, there is no borehole. Let us have all these things and please tar the premises because then I had not done the tarring, it was portor portor. Now I have finished the tarring, I have completed the shops what is left now is toilet, water and light.
You were quoted in one of the national dailies as saying that you and Tsav are childhood friends and that at 70, the two of you cannot engage in any media war, what has happened to that assertion?
The genesis is jealousy.
Everybody in Benue knows I have been constructing this building for the past seven years. And Abubakar Tsav has been coming to visit me, but he has never raised the issue. He has told some people that if I am allowed to complete this project, I will become the strongest businessman in Benue state as an indigene; because no indigene has got this in Benue. One thing that is paining Abubakar Tsav and people like him who are jealous of my effort is that the first rent I am going to collect is going to be about N78 million.
It was since March that Abubakar Tsav started fighting me, after he and Akume, went and held a reconciliatory meeting and I complained that since you and I are involved in the battle against Akume, he should have told me.