By Peter Duru, Makurdi The race for who occupies Benue State Government House in 2019 has begun; it is going to be a two-horse race between Governor Samuel Ortom of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority, NEPZA, Mr. Emmanuel Jime, of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Gov Samuel Ortom
In her submission, a former federal lawmaker, who worked with the APC candidate during the 2015 governorship election, Mrs. Rebecca Apedzan, said, “In the 2019 race, I do not see Emmanuel Jime upstaging Governor Ortom because where Jime is coming from, he has a stigma already. “The Presidency is the one imposing Jime on the people of Benue. Senator George Akume, who is the leader of the APC in the state, never wanted Jime, he wanted Benjamin Adanyi. But the Presidency wanted Jime because they want to use him against us. “Their idea was to look for somebody who will abrogate the Anti-open Grazing Law which the people of Benue themselves demanded for and had under Ortom. “Unfortunately Jime is a willing horse to be used and the people of Benue are aware of it. We all know very well, so he cannot upstage Ortom. “I must add that Jime is a good person but he has his own problems. I worked for Jime in the 2015 election. If you work for Jime in one year, he will never pick your calls. Jime will not relate, he is not a grassroots person. “Mind you, in our state, we don’t have class syndrome, but he has class syndrome. He has so many things against him. He is my brother, my mother is from his place but he cannot upstage Ortom. “Governor Ortom has been uplifted by God through the fight he put up in defense of the people of the state against those who wanted to ruin our state. “That is why they are looking for a willing person to be used but the Tiv people will not allow anybody who will come and make us suffer again. “Akume himself knows the problems Jime has. Akume also knows that the fact that Jime came from the Presidency and he would have a problem here in the state. “It will be difficult to sell Jime in Tiv land especially because of the killings our people suffered while the Presidency looked away. So the PDP and Ortom will overwhelmingly take Benue.” Unsellable On his part, the Convener of Middle Belt Movement for Justice and Peace, MBMJP, Comrade Joe Bukka, maintained that the APC is unsellable to Benue people in 2019 given the anger that trailed the killings in the state from January 1. Bukka said, “Honestly, I don’t see the APC gaining any form of acceptability in Benue in the coming elections because of the way the Federal Government handled the killings in Benue by armed militant herdsmen.
In her submission, a former federal lawmaker, who worked with the APC candidate during the 2015 governorship election, Mrs. Rebecca Apedzan, said, “In the 2019 race, I do not see Emmanuel Jime upstaging Governor Ortom because where Jime is coming from, he has a stigma already. “The Presidency is the one imposing Jime on the people of Benue. Senator George Akume, who is the leader of the APC in the state, never wanted Jime, he wanted Benjamin Adanyi. But the Presidency wanted Jime because they want to use him against us. “Their idea was to look for somebody who will abrogate the Anti-open Grazing Law which the people of Benue themselves demanded for and had under Ortom. “Unfortunately Jime is a willing horse to be used and the people of Benue are aware of it. We all know very well, so he cannot upstage Ortom. “I must add that Jime is a good person but he has his own problems. I worked for Jime in the 2015 election. If you work for Jime in one year, he will never pick your calls. Jime will not relate, he is not a grassroots person. “Mind you, in our state, we don’t have class syndrome, but he has class syndrome. He has so many things against him. He is my brother, my mother is from his place but he cannot upstage Ortom. “Governor Ortom has been uplifted by God through the fight he put up in defense of the people of the state against those who wanted to ruin our state. “That is why they are looking for a willing person to be used but the Tiv people will not allow anybody who will come and make us suffer again. “Akume himself knows the problems Jime has. Akume also knows that the fact that Jime came from the Presidency and he would have a problem here in the state. “It will be difficult to sell Jime in Tiv land especially because of the killings our people suffered while the Presidency looked away. So the PDP and Ortom will overwhelmingly take Benue.” Unsellable On his part, the Convener of Middle Belt Movement for Justice and Peace, MBMJP, Comrade Joe Bukka, maintained that the APC is unsellable to Benue people in 2019 given the anger that trailed the killings in the state from January 1. Bukka said, “Honestly, I don’t see the APC gaining any form of acceptability in Benue in the coming elections because of the way the Federal Government handled the killings in Benue by armed militant herdsmen.
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