Politics

Benue: Rev. Fr. Gov-elect Breaks Silence After Guber Victory, Promises New Dawn

Published

1 year ago

March 21, 2023

Editor

The Governor- elect of Benue state, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has described his victory in the Saturday’s gubernatorial election as remarkable and historic.

The Catholic Priest, in his victory speech at his Makurdi residence, shortly after being declared winner of the polls Monday by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, acknowledged the enormous support he got from the people to emerge victorious promising to meet the expectations of the people.

He said, “The long and anxious wait for the results to be officially declared is over; we can now roll out the drums in celebration of this great victory.

“I recognize what an enormous privilege and honor it is to be trusted with the government of the State especially at this time and am deeply conscious of it. I would like to say that God does not call the qualified! He qualifies the called.

“I may not be the most qualified Benue son to lead the State at this time but the Good Lord who has called me will qualify me.

“Never in my life have I seen a people express their desires and wishes so passionately as I saw from you in this election.

“The volunteers who came together under various support groups; those who travelled to all nooks and crannies of our State to knock on doors; the poll watchers who stayed vigilant to ensure that our votes were counted; every one of you. You all are the true heroes of this victory, and your names will be written in gold in the annals of our State.

“It has been a remarkable and historic victory for our Party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). I am in no doubt at all about the enormity of the challenges that lie ahead and what this victory means in the face of these challenges.

“My dear people, this victory belongs to you. It belongs to all of you who thirst for the dividends of democracy. And by this victory, the liberation we have all yearned for is at hand.

“Change is coming to Benue State. I take this opportunity to appreciate the Leader of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue state, Senator Dr George Akume, who has remained strong like the Rock of Gibraltar and guided us along the path to this happy moment.

“I appreciate the State Working Committee of the Party under the leadership of the ebullient Comrade Austin Agada, as well as the other organs and critical stakeholders of the Party for their resilience and resourcefulness.

“I doff my hat for the most hardworking and ingenious campaign team ever assembled in the political history of Benue State led by the Director General, Rev. Dr. Frederick Ikyaan. They represent the building blocks to this victory.

“I am grateful for the friendship and support of my running mate, Barr. Sam Ode. He has worked so hard on the campaign trail, and I look forward to fruitful collaboration with him in Government House.

“I would like to congratulate my opponents from the other parties for making it an interesting contest. But the anxious period of politicking is over. Now is the time to unite and face the challenges of development.

“Our State, Benue, needs a total reset. Governance in our State has hit a historic low. This election is a mandate to reform and recalibrate governance in Benue.

“We need all hands, all good and ready hands, to be on deck. We need men and women whom the spoils of office cannot buy. We need all who believe that a new
Benue is possible.

“I believe there is an even greater obligation on me, in fact on us all, to tell the Benue people very clearly the difficult choices and challenges that we face and how we will work our way through them.

“We will clear the backlog of arrears of salaries, and pensions and gratuities, resettle our IDPs in their ancestral homes, address persistent insecurity challenges and set the stage for a prosperous Benue.

“We need to set the foundations for a strong economy. And on top of
that, we need to start building an economy of the future based on skills and talents and education and the application of technology; knowing that the forces of global competition and technology mean that we can only compete based on skills and talents. Let us unlock our wealth!

“My fellow citizens, a new Benue is possible, and I enjoin all of you to join hands with me to make it a reality.

“Let us begin by embracing a new way of thinking and action – by cultivating a new ethos that expresses the best of us, that brings forth our better angels and not our worst demons.

“The smallness of unending political recriminations and willful economic sabotage must give way to accommodation and the pursuit of loftierideals.

“There is a lot we can achieve through consensus and synergy. Our points of difference cannot be greater than the things that unite us.

“Let us resolve, walk and work together as one people united by a common destiny. We the people of Benue, through this victory, have taken a new step in a new direction.

“We have voted to realize the vision of our founding fathers, the vision of a peaceful and buoyant society where both indigene and settler, the rich and the not-so-rich will engage in the pursuit of happiness unhindered.

“We have voted to defeat the politics of backwardness, hate and division, in preference for a social contract that enhances our common brotherhood and adds value to lives.

“Let the word go out to the wretched of the earth in our hinterlands – the poor farmer in Sankera, the palm wine tapper in Otukpa, the petty trader at Abinsi, the rice farmer in Gwer-West, and the artisan in Gboko, that through this election, a new dawn has broken in Benue – a new dawn of equal opportunity and shared prosperity.

“And let the word go out to all the ends of the earth, that a people, through this election, have risen from the ashes of deprivation and depression and are marching in lockstep towards their rightful place in the hall of greatness.

“As we get set to begin the arduous task of rebuilding our state, May the God of all Goodness, who has answered our cry for freedom today, fortify us with the strength and wisdom to succeed.”

Politics

Poll: APC Has No Sellable Candidate, Nothing To Campaign On – Edo Govt

Published

2 days ago

May 13, 2024

Editor

The Edo State Government claimed on Monday that the All Progressives Congress, APC, has no credible candidate for the September 21 governorship election.

This was an assertion made by the Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, at a press conference in Benin City.

Nehikhare also alleged that the party is using lies and propaganda as its campaign strategy.

According to him: “The only APC strategy for the governorship election is to resort to lies and propaganda. When a party takes lies and propaganda as an election strategy, it means it has nothing to offer the people. The party lacks people with character, capacity, and intellect.”

The commissioner who took journalists through a screened shot WhatsApp chat said: “What we have here is the official APC WhatsApp platform, their own people screenshot their discussion. One of them who has a conscience asks, is this the only thing we have?”

Nehikhare, who said APC is ashamed to campaign for its candidate, noted that, as of today, nobody had heard of what the party has for the state.

“All we heard is how they are going to help their paymaster, lies and propaganda that will not help the state,” he added.

He opined that lies and propaganda are not strategies the opposition party, like APC, can use to win the September 21 governorship election.

The commissioner, who warned against misinformation and fake news ahead of the governorship election, urged media practitioners to be neutral in matters concerning lies and propaganda.

He, however, noted that Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration has a lot of achievements to market and sell its candidate for the election.

Politics

Defection: Edo Govt, Ex-PDP BoT Member, Idahosa In Verbal War

Published

3 days ago

May 13, 2024

Editor

Edo State government and a former member of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Board of Trustees, Charles Idahosa, on Monday traded words over the latter defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Recall that Idahosa resigned
formally resigned who had last month resigned from PDP, rejoined the APC on Monday in Benin City.

Speaking during his formal presentation to the APC in Benin City, he noted that he left the party four years ago due to internal crisis.

Idahosa added that he dumped the PDP because of what he described as the “damning deeds of the Obaseki-led administration in the last four years”.

He took a swipe at Obaseki for saying that PDP would win the forthcoming September governorship election with 80 per cent of votes.

“I thank God, four years later we all are wiser now. Like the Secretary said, I was a founding member of ACD, ACN and APC. The damage we did four years ago, the APC never remained the same.

“But I am glad we are back to the family. I was nominated to the Board of the Railway when I was in the APC. When I moved to the PDP, I wrote to resign my membership but it was rejected and showed my wide acceptance.

“At 71, I am not here to contest position with anybody, I am here to work. I want to urge APC to keep their eyes on the ball. It is not over until it is over.”

While lambasting Governor Obaseki for his comment that those leaving PDP have been given money, he noted that his greatest regret was not allowing the governor to resign after his first four years in office.

“When he came to beg me like a weather beaten chicken, how much did he give to me? Anytime he goes religious gathering he would say those leaving PDP have been given money.

“He came to me three times in my house to say he wants to resign, that he was tired of being governor but I appealed to him, telling him it was not about him but Benin interest.”

But in a swift reaction, the state Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare alleged that Idahosa was never a PDP member.

Nehikhare noted that Idahosa was also never a BOT member of the party, because the party in the state rejected his nomination.

He alleged that it was as a result of the rejection that he found his way back to APC.

“I heard that he claimed to be a member of BOT of PDP but I want to challenge him to tell us when he was sworn in as a member of PDP BOT. He was not a fit and proper person. Even though he was nominated he was shunned by the party.

“It was this that drove him back to APC which he never left in the first place. He was holding on to the board appointment which was offered him while in APC prior to 2020 governorship election.

“He has reached the end of his political career. He has nothing to offer any political party or any group he joins because he believes in bread and butter politics,” Nehikhare said.

Politics

Edo Guber: Ex-PDP BoT Member Joins APC, Says ‘I Regret Supporting Obaseki

Published

3 days ago

May 13, 2024

Editor

A former member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Charles Idahosa on Monday defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he regretted supporting Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki four-year ago.

Idahosa said his greatest regret is stopping Governor Godwin Obaseki from resigning in 2020 after he was frustrated out of the APC in his bid to seek reelection on the party’s platform.

Speaking to newsmen shortly after his declaration for the APC at his residence in Benin City, with leaders of the APC in attendance, Idahosa said his return to the APC is homecoming.

The former Information Commissioner in Edo State said in 2020, the governor had cried to him over the ill -treatment meted on him by his predecessor and National chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole and was considering resigning.

Idahosa noted that Obaseki was at the verge of giving up to allow the APC to pick another governorship candidate, but he (Idahosa) encouraged him to keep hope alive and he personally fought the battle for the governor to win his reelection .

Idahosa, however, lamented that Obaseki utterances during the inauguration of the PDP Campaign Council for the 2024 election was heartless and uncomplimentary when he accused the defectors from PDP as having received huge sums of money before their defection.

The former BoT member of the PDP, while urging the Edo APC leadership to work in synergy ahead of the governorship election, said that the greatest misfortune to befall the APC is for Godwin Obaseki to install a successor.

Idahosa who pledged his support for the governorship candidate of the APC, Senator Monday Okphebholo, said street survival instinct not doctoral degrees (PhD) or big grammar is needed as a criteria for the next governor that will succeed Obaseki.

He urged Edo people and the APC to put the damning deeds of the Obaseki-led government of 4 years ago in the past and unite to stop the governor and the PDP governorship candidate from taking over the governance of the state in the September 21st governorship election.

He said, “Four years later, we are all wiser. I am back to the APC, which is my family. It is homecoming for me and I am very comfortable. At 71 , I am not going to be a threat to anybody. I am joing the APC to work. Nobody should be afraid or scared that Charles Idahosa is joining the APC because I won’t be contesting any position. “

Earlier, the APC state secretary, Lawrence Okah, while receiving Idahosa into the party, said the former member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Charles Idahosa is a man of honour and a foundation member of the APC.