Benue Guber: A Four-Sided Battle Between Ortom, Others ~ Share4World.Com.Ng

Benue Guber: A Four-Sided Battle Between Ortom, Others

by Editor_01

The battle line over who would occupy the Benue Peoples House in 2019 is drawn between Governor Samuel Ortom(PDP) against NEPZA boss, Emmanuel Jime (APC), Rev.Frederick Ikyaan (PRP) and the governorship candidate of the SDP, Hingah Biem among others.

Though other political parties such as Labour Party(LP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Action Democratic Congress(ADC), among others have candidates for the Benue governorship, watchers say the tussle would in the end come down to between Governor Ortom of the PDP and the candidate of the APC, Emmanuel Jime.

Many within the PDP in the state know quite well that the return of Jime as the governorship candidate of the APC for 2019 election is a big threat to the chances og Governor Ortom and the PDP in retaining the state. eir worry is hinged on non-payment of workers salaries and other welfare issues by Governor Ortom.

Apart from APC's Jime who was also the candidate of the of the party in 2015, the candidate of the SDP, Hon Hingah Biem is also contesting the position for the second time. e fresher among them is the candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Reverend Frederick Ikyaan, a minister of God.

Revd Ikyaan's (PRP) entry into the race has elicited speculations that he would have the backing of churches in a state that belongs entirely to Christians.

Good news is that each of the parties which plan to wrest power from the ruling PDP seems to have manifestoes that are apt for solving the state's many problems.

Unlike in the past when the people of the state voted on the basis of political parties, there may be a shift in 2019, as the electorates are likely to vote based on the antecedents, leadership experience, integrity, charisma, credibility, courage and preparedness to diligently confront the many developmental challenges of the state.

However the campaign pitches of the candidates have hardly been based on issues. e two major political parties in the state, PDP and APC are leading rather with smear messages, vili cation, acrimony, maligning, and character assassination rather than engage in issues-based debates that would sell their party's candidature to the electorates.

Governor Samuel Ortom is a consummate politician with enviable political credentials. His nearly four years as Benue governor has no doubt brought some value and development to the state in different spheres. His track records and sacrifice in the area of security in the state and peace of his people is today unparalled.

This is evident in the enactment and implementation of the very popular Anti- Open Grazing and Ranches Establishment Law which sought to provide a panacea to incessant Fulani herdsmen attacks on the innocent and law-abiding people of the state. e amnesty programme he embarked upon for the state's anti- social elements in his first year have also impacted greatly in advancing peace and security among the indigenous people of the state.

In 2014, Ortom contested for governorship ticket of the PDP. His lost led him to defect to the APC, where he got the ticket and the eventual electoral mandate of the people as the h democratically elected governor of the state in 2015.

He held sway as the governor on the platform of the APC for over three years before he dumped the party few months ago, following a long-drawn show of disrespect to him by the party and insensitivity of the APC-led federal government to the massacre of his people by Fulani forces of occupation in the state. While his dumping of the APC was largely because of the clear inability of the APC-led federal government to address the Fulani herders/farmers crisis in the state that resulted in prolonged massacre of Benue people and the sacking of their communities, it also derived much from the disrespect and over-bearing interference he was earning from his godfather and leader of APC in the State, Senator George Akume.

Clearly, Ortom does not have much of an illustrious record of performance as governor aside his security scorecard, but if voting will done along party lines, Benue electorates would rather patronize the PDP in 2019 because of the near hatred in the minds of the people against the APC-led federal government as a result of Fulani herdsmen invasion of Benue State and their endless massacre of the innocent natives which painfully took a long time before it made sense to the APC-led federal government.

Emmanuel Jime-APC:

Emmanuel Jime is a seasoned legal practitioner cum politician. He is one of the few fortunate and young politicians in Benue who enjoy the peoples' support. His impact was felt during the civilian government of the late Revd Orshio Adasu, when he held sway as the young speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly in 1993. He is credited to be instrumental to the establishment of Benue State University having within that short spell worked with the Governor to bring the University into being.

Jime ventured into politics as a young man. He was elected member of the Benue State House of Assembly in 1992 and later speaker of the assembly. at political progress was, however, cut short in 1993 by Gen. Sani Abacha's military incursion into politics.

In 2007, he contested and won the election to represent the people of Makurdi/Guma Federal Constituency in the House of Reprentatives on the platform of the PDP and was re-elected in 2011. In 2014 Jime defected to the APC and contested for its governorship ticket and lost it to Ortom, who defected to the APC at the 11th hour a er he lost the PDP ticket to Terhemen Tarzoor. Senator Akume is said to have solely piloted Ortom's emergence as APC's candidate in 2014 against Jime, who was more rooted in the party.

Jime cried foul and even challenged the emergence of Ortom in court when the APC eventually won the Benue givernorship. Again he lost, but was compensated with an appointment as the director-general of Nigeria Export Processing and Zones Authority(NEPZA). Early in October this year, he was a rmed as the consensus candidate of the APC for 2019 governorship elections.

As a federal lawmaker, he instituted a yearly scholarship for students in tertiary institutions in his constituency and later expanded it throughout Benue with more attention given to Law School students.

On the downside, as outspoken as he is, he strangely kept mute while the heavily armed and rampaging Fulani herdsmen continued to massacre his own people. While the pogrom lasted, Jime never uttered a word against it, probably because he didn't want to irritate the APC-led federal government, upon which he relies on to be the governor of the state.

In some quarters, his silence validates the allegation that his 2019 governorship elections is being sponsored by Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore - a Fulani socio cultural group that claims responsibility for the

Benue genocide.
Jime may have all sorts of problems in

rallying Benue people around him because even his supporters feel abandoned by him shortly a er he lost the APC governorship ticket in 2014 and even as the DG NEPZA.

Inspite of the storm clouds Jime's candidature is still seen as the biggest threat to the ruling PDP in Benue.

Rev Frederick Ikyaan (PRP):

Rev Frederick Ikyaan is a pastor in the NKST(Universal Reform Christian Church of God) and a teacher. He has preached the gospel of Jesus Christ across the length and breath of Benue State and beyond. His name resonates in the Christiandom. His joining the guber race has become as symbolic as the entry of the biblical Moses in leadership. Moses was not quali ed to lead, yet was chosen by God in His wisdom to lead the people of Israel out of captivity in Egypt.

Ikyaan is a new entrant into the Benue governorship race and into politics in general. ough new in politics, Rev Ikyaan is likely to emerge the third force, given the fact that the church, a powerful force in the state is his constituency. e symbiotic relationship between the dominant Catholic Church and the NKST Church in Tiv land may largely play out in his favour.

He is contesting on the platform of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), a party with 'key' as a symbol for "unlocking the fortunes of Benue and converting them to the greater benefits for the people of the state."

Apart from working in the Lord's vineyard, Ikyaan teaches. He has taught in University of Mkar, Mkar Business School, Makurdi, Reformed Theological Seminary, Mkar and Benue State University, Makurdi.

He is currently the resident pastor of NKST Church High level, Makurdi. He is seen as upright and God fearing and a sound administrator, which are qualities Benue State direly needs in governance right now.

ere are indicators that his candidature would draw huge patronage from across the people of the state, leaving him to be a pain in the neck of both the PDP and APC candidates, especially if the Catholic Church and NKST queue behind.

On the opposite side he is a greenhorn in the bare knuckle politics of Benue State. He also lacks political structures and no visible political base in all the 23 local governments of the state. Again his PRP alien to the people.

Already powerful forces in other parties who are worried by his rising popularity are said to have infiltrated NKST Synod - the highest decision making body of Ikyaan's denomination to cause a storm for his ambition from within his own very church.

Hon. Hingah Biem (SDP):

Hon Hingah Biem is the governorship standard bearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He is a retired permanent secretary. He contested the governorship ticket of the PDP in 2015 but had to step down for Terhemen Tarzoor who eventually was the party's governorship candidate in 2015. He is from Gwer East Local Government.

Hon Biem is a political heavyweight in his own right, but he may not enjoy the favour of the electorates hence he is seen not to be rooted amongst the people.

By and large, the Benue gubernatorial race come 2019 promises to rage as war. e battle eld is already set for the showdown. In the same breath, it also signals as going to be a fascinating- four- sided war in which all the actors seem determined for victory.

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