2015: The battle for Benue Govt House Written by Friday, 29 March 2013 00:00 font size Print Email раскрутка сайтов As the race for the 2015 governorship election gets hotter, Johnson Babajide x- rays the strengths and weaknesses of some of the early contenders for Benue State’s most exalted seat. POLITICAL gladiators in Benue State have turned deaf ears to the warning by Governor Gabriel Suswam that campaign for the 2015 elections be stepped down to avoid unnecessary distraction. On a daily basis, the game continues to assume an interesting level. Several people, ranging from civil servants to technocrats and politicians have commenced open consultations towards their 2015 ambition, the most talked about being the governorship race. More than 35 people were said to have signified their interest in the state governorship seat. They include former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mike Aondoaka; Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro; and his counterpart at the Ministry of Trade and Investment, Chief Samuel Ortom. Others are former speakers of the state House of Assembly; Honourable Terhaze Tarzohor and Honourable David Iorhemba; Director-General of NAFDAC, Dr Paul Botwev Orhii; former Commissioner for Land and Survey, Honourable John Tondo, and permanent secretary, Government House, Dr Tivlumun Nyitse Chief Aondoakaa, a former minister who informants said introduced the amnesty programme to his boss, the then President Umaru Yar’ Adua, is by any means an intelligent Nigerian, a legal luminary who rose to become Senior Advocate of Nigeria. But the title was stripped off him shortly after he left office.Within the period he served as minister of federal republic, Aondoakaa was said to have impacted positively on the people of the state and empowered so many, which may count in his favour in the party’s primary. Before he became minister, Aondoakaa was said to have contested for some elective offices but failed. He contested for the chairmanship position of Ushongo Local Government Area and the state House of Assembly. Presently, he is a close confidant of the incumbent governor, Dr Gabriel Suswam, but this may not work in his favour if the zoning arrangement is strictly adhered to. He is from the same senatorial district with the incumbent governor. Besides, his council had once produced the governor of the state, the late Aper Aku. Comrade Abba Moro is no doubt a grass- roots politician and mobilizer who is loved across the three senatorial districts of the state, a generous man who believes in equal distribution of opportunities. He is a former local government chairman of Okpokwu and state chairman of ALGON. In 2007, he tried his luck in the governorship race but lost to Suswam in the primary. His loss then was due to the combination of sentiment and horse trading by the powers that be. He had, at every forum, told people that he might not take a shot at the governorship slot in 2015. This, many observers see as the result of the bitter experience he garnered during the 2007 governorship race. But with recent events, the minister is said to have started consultations to brighten his chances of making it in 2015. He is said to be judiciously using his office to empower the people of the state. Information gathered is that he had, in the last one and half years, assisted in employing many youths across the state. He may not however have a smooth sail because of the ethnic group he comes from. The Tivs are not ready to relinquish power to the Idomas, and his political foes are also whipping up the sentiment that most of those engaged were from his ethnic group. The director general of NAFDAC, Dr Orhi is another major contestant. He hails from Ushongo Local Government Area of the state, and is said to be a very brilliant person. Since he became the NAFDAC boss, the man has consistently got in touch with his area and particularly his alma mater. Having stayed long abroad, those rooting for him argued, he is a fresh candidate yet uncorrupted by politics and power, hence fewer political enemies may work against his ambition. The problem he is likely to confront is the zoning arrangement which may not work in his favour. He hails from the council that produced the first civilian governor of the state, Aper Aku of blessed memory. He may also find it difficult to convince the political stakeholders in the state who see him as not having the political terrain of the state on his finger tips, to back his ambition. The Minister of state for Trade and Investment, Chief Ortom, is a grass-roots politicians loved by the people of the state. He is a well-bred politician and is said to be generous and an epitome of humility who professes strong. Christian faith which, no doubt, has been working for him. He abhors politics of bitterness and always act as a bridge builder between the ruling party and opposition. A former local government chairman and influential member of his party PDP, he contributed immensely to the emergence of Governor Suswam in 2007 as the secretary of the party. He is favoured by the zoning arrangement because his area, Minda, is being tipped to produce the next governor of the state. But he will have to contend with possible mistrust by the incumbent governor who sees him as being close to a former governor of the state, Chief George Akume. His intimidating political profile in the state may likely pitch him against powerful men on the political scene, those who will likely express fear over his independent nature and the possibility of his opening a can of worms if given the opportunity to mount the office. Dr Nyitse, a permanent secretary in Government House, before he joined the civil service, had worked as a journalist with the defunct Concord newspaper. He is experienced in the private and public service. He has the potentials of making a successful governor. A strong and loyal civil servant, he has networks of associates that could rally round him. He is seen as a very humble person and is from the strongly marginalized area of Tivland, Minda, which is being considered to produce the next governor of the state. However, with the new trend of politics in the country, his boss may likely frown at having a civil servant succeed him in the belief that a trained politician will make a better governor than a ‘ bloody civil servant’ who believes in bureaucracy. Tarzohor, a former speaker of the state assembly, was barely four months in office when the Appeal Court nullified his election in 2011. But within the few months in the saddle, the young man was said to proved himself to be a politician who could be trusted with power, knowing how to strike a balance between his political leaders and followers. This was why, several months after he started living a private life once again, the people still flock around him. Aside the love he enjoys anywhere he goes, the sitting governor may likely find some qualities in him to be entrusted with power, particularly as someone who will not rock the boat when the chips are down. He is favoured by the zoning arrangement, as he is also from Minda. Again, his youthful age may also be an advantage. But whatever the case may be, politics is not arithmetic. The political space is still open for more people. As a political observers in the state, Pa Denis Achame, put it: “The early contenders hardly get the slot.”
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 11:11:21 +0000
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