How Will Benue Vote During the 2019 Governorship Elections
Which Way Benue
Never has there been an election that rankles the nerves like the election of 2019.
Personally it has been a gut wrenching experience made even worse by the increasingly irascible attitude of “Friends” who have become rabid in their almost divine mission of unseating candidates and a mindset intolerant of any discussion; they quickly resort to blocking or sending insults.
Nevertheless it is a painful process that must be endured as we meditate and fight over which candidate to support to handle the mission and land mines ahead in Benue fighting for its survival and protection of our ancestral lands.
There has never been an election in Benue more important than the election of 2019.
The staggered elections meant that the presidential, senate and Nass elections were held on feb 23rd with the governorship and house of assembly elections to follow on the 9th of March.
The elections on the 23 swung Benue into the opposition column for the first time since the 60’s as the PDP seized all three of the senatorial seats and a majority of the NASS seats.
On the 9th and based on that outcome Benue will have to choose how to balance that outcome in its choice of Governor.
After exploring the candidates as a Tiv or idoma man there is almost no way you could justify your vote without being judged as a hypocrite an ethnic traitor or morally bankrupt.
Nevertheless the strengths of each of the candidates must be examined:
The Front Runners
1. Governor Ortom, is a former LGA chairman, minister and Party auditor seeking re-election. His major handicap is owing a backlog of worker salaries and a mysterious wage bill that defies logic. He has also been accused of misappropriating the Paris Refund and various allocations meant to settle outstanding salaries. Besides the issue of salaries one is hard pressed to find any major visible project he has built beyond getting accreditation for the school of nursing and BSU medical school. Steady trips to China and MOU’s have not seen the resurrection of factories or the take off of construction for the cargo airport. His one glowing achievement is doing an excellent job at diplomatically publicizing the bloody gut wrenching activities of the Fulani militia in Benue and the pointing out the indifference of the federal government to respond. He has advocated for ranching and better security measures on Channels TV and has created awareness and shamed the federal government to act. His effectiveness and eventual signature appendment to the anti grazing bill that became law however has made him a lightening rod and put his political career at risk and the law has made him very unpopular with Buhari and Miyatti Allah. Even Atiku questioned the constitutionality of the anti-grazing law. Benue will have to decide whether it can afford to have him remain Governor now that he is clearly out of favor with the powers that be and the presidency.
2. Jime is a candidate with a long distinguished track record in Benue state politics having served as Speaker of the house of Assembly and two term house of reps representative, he is also the immediate past MD of NEPZA. According to reports and as a lawyer he is reported to have tabled many bills at BSHA and NASS while serving on several committees. His auspicious candidacy has however been caught up in the politics and current events of Benue where the menace and onslaught of Fulani herdsmen and moves to appropriate land by the federal government reigns supreme. He is running for Governor as the candidate of the APC Presided over by Buhari perceived by Benue particulary Tiv indigenes as being indifferent to the plight of and covertly supporting his Fulani brothers against Benue. The otherwise positive candidacy of Jime is caught up in this vicious cycle of rumors and half truths even to the extent of rumors being peddled that his mum is Fulani, a disqualifying attribute in the current environment in Benue, but also that he is being sponsored by Miyatti Allah and Buhari to repeal the Anti grazing law instituted by Ortom. Benue May choose to vote for Jime to keep Benue’s link to the Aso Villa Intact and usher in a clean slate of individuals representing Benue dealing with Abuja and Buhari. He also has hinted he is prepared to make tough decisions regarding the issue of outstanding salaries, tackling a bloated workforce and running Benue using good governance matrixes. He is married to an idoma woman as well which can unify the state. It will be interesting to see if he can get elected with the The stigma of association with Buhari, the APC, Akume hanging over his candidacy.
The Young Turks
On the heels of the not too young to rule movement Benue has been blessed to have on the ballot some young and enterprising candidates with visions of breaking the strangle hood cycle of old men. You have John Tseayo, from the respectable and learned Tseayo clan for APGA, Dr. Steven Akuma who has developed an online following for the NCP and Barrister Caleb Terry Nyikwagh flying the banner of the AAC. It is difficult to pass over any of these young idealistic candidates and a vote against them intrinsically signals Benue is not ready for a new younger generation of leaders to take the helm in Benue and take the state on a new path.
Dark Horses
The SDP is the most visible new party on the political scene but the party party has been riddled with factional fight, irregularly non transparent processes all the way from state to the federal level but also intense litigation that swings the pendulum from one court anointed candidate to the other. Not much is known about Hinga Biem’s antecedents, but his running mate Dickson A. O. Akoh is or was the commandant of the Peace Corp, the equivalent of a General in the armed forces, so he will definitely bring some security expertise to countering Fulani herdsmen, although his previous clashes with the NPF regarding the legitimacy of
The PDP is featuring Revd Ikyaan, PhD, being a catholic reverend in Benue makes him very appealing to Benue indigenes determined to keep Benue Christian and prevent the invasive influence of Islam. His candidacy also draws on longings and memories of the late Revd father Adasu to restore some sense of ethics at Government house Makurdi. Many benue citizens torn between Jime and Ortom May vote for him to free their consvhe may spring a surprise
Another standout is the UPP candidate Sam Abah of the famed MAFO movement
Besides these aforementioned candidates there are 28 other gubernatorial candidat
It is indeed a terrible time for Benue in being forced to choose between Ortom and Jime as the obvious front runner of powerful coalitions and many may not want to waste their votes on fringe candidates as proven by the presidential elections where everyone voted for either the PDP or APC.
whatever the outcome the issues facing the Tiv nation especially regarding encroaching Fulani colonies will have to be tackled and will not go away soon no matter who is elected.
May God guide Benue as it votes today.
Post notes: the SDP just withdrew and declared support for Jime.
Never has there been an election that rankles the nerves like the election of 2019.
Personally it has been a gut wrenching experience made even worse by the increasingly irascible attitude of “Friends” who have become rabid in their almost divine mission of unseating candidates and a mindset intolerant of any discussion; they quickly resort to blocking or sending insults.
Nevertheless it is a painful process that must be endured as we meditate and fight over which candidate to support to handle the mission and land mines ahead in Benue fighting for its survival and protection of our ancestral lands.
There has never been an election in Benue more important than the election of 2019.
The staggered elections meant that the presidential, senate and Nass elections were held on feb 23rd with the governorship and house of assembly elections to follow on the 9th of March.
The elections on the 23 swung Benue into the opposition column for the first time since the 60’s as the PDP seized all three of the senatorial seats and a majority of the NASS seats.
On the 9th and based on that outcome Benue will have to choose how to balance that outcome in its choice of Governor.
After exploring the candidates as a Tiv or idoma man there is almost no way you could justify your vote without being judged as a hypocrite an ethnic traitor or morally bankrupt.
Nevertheless the strengths of each of the candidates must be examined:
The Front Runners
1. Governor Ortom, is a former LGA chairman, minister and Party auditor seeking re-election. His major handicap is owing a backlog of worker salaries and a mysterious wage bill that defies logic. He has also been accused of misappropriating the Paris Refund and various allocations meant to settle outstanding salaries. Besides the issue of salaries one is hard pressed to find any major visible project he has built beyond getting accreditation for the school of nursing and BSU medical school. Steady trips to China and MOU’s have not seen the resurrection of factories or the take off of construction for the cargo airport. His one glowing achievement is doing an excellent job at diplomatically publicizing the bloody gut wrenching activities of the Fulani militia in Benue and the pointing out the indifference of the federal government to respond. He has advocated for ranching and better security measures on Channels TV and has created awareness and shamed the federal government to act. His effectiveness and eventual signature appendment to the anti grazing bill that became law however has made him a lightening rod and put his political career at risk and the law has made him very unpopular with Buhari and Miyatti Allah. Even Atiku questioned the constitutionality of the anti-grazing law. Benue will have to decide whether it can afford to have him remain Governor now that he is clearly out of favor with the powers that be and the presidency.
2. Jime is a candidate with a long distinguished track record in Benue state politics having served as Speaker of the house of Assembly and two term house of reps representative, he is also the immediate past MD of NEPZA. According to reports and as a lawyer he is reported to have tabled many bills at BSHA and NASS while serving on several committees. His auspicious candidacy has however been caught up in the politics and current events of Benue where the menace and onslaught of Fulani herdsmen and moves to appropriate land by the federal government reigns supreme. He is running for Governor as the candidate of the APC Presided over by Buhari perceived by Benue particulary Tiv indigenes as being indifferent to the plight of and covertly supporting his Fulani brothers against Benue. The otherwise positive candidacy of Jime is caught up in this vicious cycle of rumors and half truths even to the extent of rumors being peddled that his mum is Fulani, a disqualifying attribute in the current environment in Benue, but also that he is being sponsored by Miyatti Allah and Buhari to repeal the Anti grazing law instituted by Ortom. Benue May choose to vote for Jime to keep Benue’s link to the Aso Villa Intact and usher in a clean slate of individuals representing Benue dealing with Abuja and Buhari. He also has hinted he is prepared to make tough decisions regarding the issue of outstanding salaries, tackling a bloated workforce and running Benue using good governance matrixes. He is married to an idoma woman as well which can unify the state. It will be interesting to see if he can get elected with the The stigma of association with Buhari, the APC, Akume hanging over his candidacy.
The Young Turks
On the heels of the not too young to rule movement Benue has been blessed to have on the ballot some young and enterprising candidates with visions of breaking the strangle hood cycle of old men. You have John Tseayo, from the respectable and learned Tseayo clan for APGA, Dr. Steven Akuma who has developed an online following for the NCP and Barrister Caleb Terry Nyikwagh flying the banner of the AAC. It is difficult to pass over any of these young idealistic candidates and a vote against them intrinsically signals Benue is not ready for a new younger generation of leaders to take the helm in Benue and take the state on a new path.
Dark Horses
The SDP is the most visible new party on the political scene but the party party has been riddled with factional fight, irregularly non transparent processes all the way from state to the federal level but also intense litigation that swings the pendulum from one court anointed candidate to the other. Not much is known about Hinga Biem’s antecedents, but his running mate Dickson A. O. Akoh is or was the commandant of the Peace Corp, the equivalent of a General in the armed forces, so he will definitely bring some security expertise to countering Fulani herdsmen, although his previous clashes with the NPF regarding the legitimacy of
The PDP is featuring Revd Ikyaan, PhD, being a catholic reverend in Benue makes him very appealing to Benue indigenes determined to keep Benue Christian and prevent the invasive influence of Islam. His candidacy also draws on longings and memories of the late Revd father Adasu to restore some sense of ethics at Government house Makurdi. Many benue citizens torn between Jime and Ortom May vote for him to free their consvhe may spring a surprise
Another standout is the UPP candidate Sam Abah of the famed MAFO movement
Besides these aforementioned candidates there are 28 other gubernatorial candidat
It is indeed a terrible time for Benue in being forced to choose between Ortom and Jime as the obvious front runner of powerful coalitions and many may not want to waste their votes on fringe candidates as proven by the presidential elections where everyone voted for either the PDP or APC.
whatever the outcome the issues facing the Tiv nation especially regarding encroaching Fulani colonies will have to be tackled and will not go away soon no matter who is elected.
May God guide Benue as it votes today.
Post notes: the SDP just withdrew and declared support for Jime.
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