2015: BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF BENUE THE general election is almost here, and the political atmosphere in Benue State, just like everywhere in Nigeria, is daily becoming heated up. The two dominant political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are devising strategies outwit the order in order to either consolidate or take over the affairs of governance in the food basket state come May 29. Leading the pack are the governorship candidate of the PDP, Hon. Terhemen Tarzoor and his APC counterpart, Chief Samuel Ortom both of whom have many things going for them and against them. A careful look at the political antecedence of the two formidable candidates indicates that both are well grounded in the state. The stage is therefore set for a titanic battle. Until his emergence as the gubernatorial candidate of the ruling PDP in the party primaries, Tarzoor could not have been seen as giving anyone much trouble in the contest. It was surprising that he emerged tops in a keenly contested primaries ahead of other political heavy weights and strategists of many years standing. The easy going and ebullient former Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly slugged it out and came victorious against the likes of three former ministers, namely: Chief Micheal Aondoakaa (SAN), Dr Sam Ode and Dr Samuel Ortom as well as the state’s Deputy Governor, Chief Steven Lawani, among many other formidable contestants. One thing going for the former lawmaker was his closeness to Benue State Governor, Dr Gabriel Suswam, who provided him with all the necessary logistics and the support of an incumbency to aggressively prosecute the primary election to his advantage. Another factor was that Hon Tarzoor, whose late father was a prominent traditional ruler in Makurdi Local Government Area, was and still is, heavily supported by the entire Tiv Traditional Council under the leadership of the Begha U Tiv, Orchivirigh Akawe Torkula. Besides, the support extended to him by former and serving colleagues of the Benue State House of Assembly remains a plus to his candidacy. He will also enjoy bloc votes from the Benue South because of the influence of Senate President David Mark, particularly because the zone never tolerates opposition but prefers mainstream from which they have continually reaped bountifully, apart from the ministerial position they now occupy. With the incumbency support, and a heavy financial warchest in his favour, Hon Tarzoor who is perceived in many quarters as humble, focused, intelligent, articulate, well-educated and resultoriented, looks good to clinch the governorship position. His weaknesses The major minus against the candidacy of Tarzoor is his alleged lack of executive experience, exposure and versatility in either public or private enterprise which pundits insist are germane for articulating government’s policies for the state which are often frustrated by selfish bureaucrats. Tarzoor is also alleged have no connection with the locals of Benue State and therefore not appreciative of their plight. This, it is said, may make it impossible for him to address such challenges and rely on his appointees from such communities who hardly deliver government’s programmes to the rural people but corner them to themselves. Above all, the process which threw him up as the candidate of the party still leaves bitter tastes in the mouths of the party’s top members, and his cocontestants. It will take serious persuasion and pleas for manyto come to warm up to him. As the anointed candidate of Governor Suswam, Tarzoor is being queried by many party men across the board who are expressing their reservation on his ability to perform. The outgoing Governor is perceived to have economically strangulated the state, particularly when it is having difficulty paying workers salaries. On the whole, the marketability or otherwise of Hon Tarzoor depends more on how his campaign organisation and the party in particular to realize these salient points and address them headlong.SAMUEL ORTOM An experienced political Trojan- horse, Samuel Ortom first came into the political scene in 1990 when he was elected the first chairman of his native, Guma local government area of Benue State. In 1999, he was elected the State Treasurer of the defunct All Peoples’ Party (APP). He was made the State Secretary of the PDP upon his defection to the party in 2001, the State Deputy Chairman 2006, elected National Auditor PDP, appointed Minister of State Trade and Investment where he oversaw the Ministry of Aviation before his resignation to seek the governorship of Benue. There is no denying the fact that Ortom is a household name in Benue and indeed Nigerian politics now. He has endeared himself to the ordinary folks, the transport union where he was once a garage tout; the Church which he has contributed significantly in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it in turn is now supplicating and firing prayers to God to clear electoral hurdles in his way. Ortom is a friend of the less privileged, the rejected and hopeless on the street. He has provided employment to thousands of youths of Benue, Lagos and Abuja and elsewhere, using his Oracle Business Enterprise. Perhaps the greatest advantage of Ortom is the intimidating followership he commands in Benue as well as his financial warchest, coupled with his deep connection across Nigeria, particularly in the church. His weaknesses Described as sly, all-knowing, ambitious and desperate for vain power despite his deep belief in the Church of Christ, Chief Ortom who two weeks ago contested the governorship ticket on the platform of the PDP before defecting to the APC, is said to have also procured another nomination form in the Labour Party which has made many people not to trust him any longer. Another controversy is the manner in which he was handed the APC ticket by Senator George Akume against some popular aspirants in the party, like Senator JKN Waku, Prof Steven Ugbah, Hon Emmanuel Jime, Mr. Akange Audu and Mr Mike Iordye without a properly conducted primary or genuine consensus arrangement. Already, the aggrieved aspirants have threatened a court case to stop INEC from receiving Otom’s nomination form which is a negative signal of things to come. The fact that remains is that with a divided house the way it is now, the candidacy of Ortom and the chances of him triumphing over the PDP opponent appears dicey unless a divine miracle is applied to avoid implosion and possible protest vote.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 10:04:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015