Benue Guber: PDP’s Consensus Candidate,Uba, Charged to Unite other Aspirants

George Okoh In Makurdi

The Governor of Benue State, Mr. Samuel Ortom and his predecessor, Senator Gabriel Suswam, have charged the consensus governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rt. Hon. Titus Uba, to work with his co-aspirants and visit them individually in order to convince them to work for him and also share their manifestos.

Ortom and Senator Suswam gave this charge in Makurdi yesterday, while unveiling the Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Hon Titus Uba, as the governorship consensus candidate for the PDP from the 14 local government areas of the Tiv speaking areas in the state.

In his speech, Suswam, who  represents Benue North East at the Senate, commended the process that was mid-wifed by Governor Ortom, even as he also acknowledged the aspirants for their resilience and cooperation.

Recall that Uba emerged as the Benue PDP consensus governorship candidate following a painstaking process that involved various segments of the stakeholders of the party in the state.

The 32 gubernatorial aspirants from the 14 Tiv speaking local government areas endorsed the speaker of Benue State House of Assembly after he was selected by the Kunav leaders of Vandeikya Local Government Area and was accepted by Sankera, Jemgbagh and MINDA political elders.

The gubernatorial aspirants took the unanimous decision following series of stakeholders meetings involving mediations by Ortom and other leaders of the party in the state.

At the meeting of stakeholders from the 14 Tiv speaking local government areas on Sunday, April 17th, 2022, at the New Banquet Hall of the Benue Peoples House, the aspirants unanimously presented Hon Uba to the governor as their consensus.

Chairman of the PDP Governorship Aspirants Forum, Mr. Chille Igbawua, said that though the process was tedious, they had accepted the choice of Uba as presented by the people of Kunav.

Receiving the consensus candidate on behalf of the party, state Deputy Chairman of the PDP, Hon Isaac Mfo, thanked the governor for consulting widely to arrive at the consensus by the Tiv speaking areas, stressing that aspirants also exhibited high level of patience as the process lasted.

Uba will now contend with the deputy governor, Mr. Benson Abounu, who emerged as the consensus candidate for the 9 local government areas of Benue South Senatorial District for the guber ticket at the party congress.