PDP, APC in Final Push for the Soul of Benue State

  George Okoh examines the chances of the two major political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress as they struggle for the governorship position in Benue State in the impending national elections

As count down to who emerges as successor to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state gains momentum and with the release of time table by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),the jostle for who occupies Benue Government House is in full swing. Many aspirants for the position have started to purchase the governorship nomination forms to vie for the position.The 2023 election is viewed by pundits to be the mother of all contest. Over sixty aspirants have made their intentions known to there political parties and have been going around consulting with relevant stakeholders. As it stands, the People Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC) lead the way in what will be a fierce contest to succeed Ortom in 2023. Ortom,who is status barred from contesting for the position having had  two terms in office will vacate the position in 2023. Many pundits have suggested that a new governor will emerge from one of the two strongest parties in the state. It is also believed that many factors will contribute to who succeeds Ortom in 2023.Some of the factors include the success or failure of the Ortom-led PDP government in the state, the acceptability of the contestants, what fresh ideas those intending to contest are bringing on board, the zoning equation and financial war chest to prosecute a capital intensive contest. Already analysts have viewed the avalanche of aspirants seeking the position as unhealthy. Also many aspirants are seen as people who just want to run for some peculiar gains. In order to prune the over 30 aspirants who have indicated interest to run within the PDP, the Benue state Governor Samuel Ortom, along with the party stakeholders instituted a pruning committee led by the elders of the party to reduce it’s aspirant. So far the committee made up of the two political group,the G14 and the G9 have reduced the number of aspirants within the PDP to five.Each of the five was picked from zones that have not produced a governor for the state.Those selected were Professor Denis Ityavyer (Vandeikya), Mr Julius Atorough (Konshisha),Terwase Orbunde (Kwande), Dr Paul Orhii (Ushongo) and the Deputy Governor of Benue state Benson Abounu,who was unanimously picked from the Benue South Senatorial zone.

 The party on Thursday at a Special Stakeholders meeting zoned the ticket in the Tiv speaking area to Vandeikya Local Government Area.

According to the Spokesman of the PDP Mr Bemgba Iortyom,the party having arrived at a consensus candidate in the Idoma speaking area in the person of incumbent Deputy Governor, Benson Abounu at an earlier similar meeting last Sunday,has also cleared Vandeikya to contest the position.

He said “Deliberations at last night’s meeting involved the party’s top leadership including Their Excellencies, Governor Samuel Ortom PDP National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, Senator Gabriel Suswam and BoT member, Chief Mrs. Margaret Icheen as well as members of the House of Representatives and a Special Ad-hoc Committee headed by the party’s State Deputy Chairman, Hon. Isaac Mffo, received the mandate at the meeting to firstly deliberate and arrive at a zoning of the governorship ticket between the Kwande and Jechira intermediate areas of Tiv land following which Jechira was favoured on grounds of equity, inclusiveness and fairness.

“The Isaac Mffo led Ad- hoc Committee was further mandated to deliberate on a zoning of the ticket between Vandeikya and Konshisha local government areas which comprise the Jechira bloc following which Vandeikya got the nod for the same reasons of equity, inclusiveness and fairness earlier adduced in favour of Jechira against Kwande”

He also disclosed that Thursday, 7th April, 2022 has been slated as date for the adoption of a consensus candidate from Vandeakya for the party’s Governorship ticket in the Tiv speaking area.

At the meeting governor Ortom expressed satisfaction with the process, stating that PDP in the state has opted for a pruning down of the number of aspirants in the race to avoid unnecessary expenditure on the aspirants while creating synergy within the party as it heads to the general elections next year.

The governor commended the unity of purpose and peaceful interaction which has been the hallmark of relations among the governorship aspirants on the platform of the party so far, even as he charged them to maintain their bond of unity in pursuit of the larger objective of retaining the governorhip seat in the state and winning federal power for it in 2023.

Also the PDP National Chairman, Dr. Ayu lauded the depth of quality among the pool of aspirants on the party’s platform, assuring them that he will use his good office to grant them access to opportunities for participation in party assignments at the national level and as well guarantee for them inclusion in government at the federal level should the party win the 2023 elections in the state and at the national levels.

On his part, Senator Suswam enjoined the aspirants to embrace the fact that only one among them will eventually emerge victorious, a victory he emphasized must be taken to be for all of them as one indivisible family, cautioning that none of them should consider leaving the party as PDP remains the most viable political platform in Nigeria presently.

Chairman of the Forum of Benue PDP 2023 Governorship Aspirants, Barrister Chille Igbawua, on behalf of the aspirants pledged to accept and abide by the decisions taken by the leadership of the PDP as loyal party men who have placed the collective interest of the party above their individual ambitions.

The pruning down of the aspirants by the PDP has drawn resistance by some aspirant who lost out at the earlier stage.
Most of them have gone ahead to procure the PDP governorship election form and have threatened not to stepdown from the race.
Many pundits view the process as an electoral fraud to impose a favourite candidate of the governor and the bigwigs in the party.
Some of the aspirants according to a reliable source are already making overtures to other parties.
According to an observer of politics in Benue,  Barrister Ejembi Oloja,the process adopted by the PDP is capable of causing a feud that will greatly affect its chances to retain the position in 2023.”From what we are observing the governor and some powerful members of the party are hell-bent on imposing their stooges on the state.This will be resisted since the electorate has a choice  in other parties.”
For the All Progressive Congress (APC), the party is yet to decide on zoning its guber ticket.Feelers from the party show  that it will throw it’s primary open to those who indicate interest to avoid imposition of a particular person.
As it stands in Benue State,it is only the entire Benue North west and a part of Benue North East  out of the three Senatorial zone that cannot vie for the governorship position.
This is so because the incumbent governor of the state Samuel Ortom hails from the MINDA part of the North west zone.Also Senator George Akume is from the Jemgba axis of the zone.From the Benue north east,Senator Gabriel Suswam,Father Moses Adasu and Aper Aku tasted the position leaving out the Benue South.However,the Kunav people of Vandeakya are the only Tiv intermediate family yet to have a shot.
According to an APC chieftain,”Politics is a game of number and that is the reason why the people of the Benue South are yet to occupy the position”
He added that the two zones that are predominantly Tiv speaking have the electoral population to win the race.” Benue South is lobbying for the position but it will be tough but not impossible”
So far the APC is parading some of the best aspirant with huge credential.Based on all the factors analysed seven aspirants within the APC stand out for the contest.
They are the Former Minister of State Niger Delta, Dr Sam Ode,Rev.Father Vincent Alia (A Catholic Priest), former Deputy Governor of Benue state Chief Steven Lawani, Architect Bernard Yisa.Former Nigeria Minister of Justice Mike Aondakaa,Former PDP National Chairman Engineer Barnabas Gemade and Professor Terhemba Shija.
The seven are formidable and the belief is that anyone of them will give the PDP a tough run.
However a source disclosed that it’s a five horse race involving Fr.Alia,Ode,Aondakaa, Gemade and Lawani.
Alia’s popularity is growing into a movement in Benue state.
His message of anti corruption and good governance is greatly appealing to the electorate.He is young, smart, brilliant, administratively experienced and renowned for his healing and miracle power.He is from Vandeikya.
Dr Sam Ode is a seasoned and brilliant politician who shares a unique position of having an Idoma father and a Tiv mother.He is very popular in all the three Senatorial zone because of his background and working experience when he served as Special Adviser on Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs during Governor Suswam’s tenure in 2007.
It is believed that if the Tivs will concede the position to the Idoma’s it will be Ode whose Tiv lineage is both from Tarka and Ushongo LGA.He also has a large number of  followers in Benue South were he led the APC as running mate to Barrister Emmanuel Jime in the 2019 governorship election to win in the majority of the nine local governments of zone.
Another aspirant who is very strong in the race is Senator Barnabas Gemade.He is caught in the web of zoning as he is from Konshisha but he cannot be ruled out.He is a political tactician from the old bloc.There is also Chief Steven Lawani.
While Aondakaa and Shija can also be counted to possess remarkable qualities for the top position.