2015: Defections scare Mark in Benue Mass defections from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a source of grave concern for the PDP and Senate President David Mark as the opposition All Progressives Congress gathers more strength in Benue State, reports Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan RECENTLY, prominent chieftains of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State defected to the opposition party in the state. Many of the decampees also went ahead to emerge as candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The development is however causing panic within the PDP ahead of 2015 general election in the state, especially within the political family of the Senate President, Senator David Mark, sending danger signals that the ruling party will have to work harder if it must retain the state in the next year’s governorship election. Estimates from analysts put the number of decampees so far at over 40,000 members across the state. At a recent ceremony in Gboko, over 10,000 PDP members dumped the party and pitched their tent with the opposition APC ahead of the next general election. Observers of the politics of the state told The Nation that most of those exiting the party are doing so on the strength of widespread allegations of imposition of candidates on the people by the leadership of the party in the state. Sources close to the Senate President’s political family said the politician is so worried that he has been holding series of meetings with his supporters to ensure that the forthcoming election is won by the ruling party. “The Senate President is worried over the gale of decampment from the PDP to the APC in the state. His worry is premised on what we see as the mismanagement of the many fall-outs of the last party primary elections in the state. “Following the defection of prominent party leaders shortly after the primaries, the Senator has been bothered about the effect of the defections on the forthcoming general election. To him, if the PDP intends to win the next elections in Benue State, the party must work extra hard. “This explains the recent activities within our group. The Senator is looking and working beyond winning his re-election to the senate. He wants PDP to retain the governorship of the state and also clear majority of the state and national legislative seats in 2015. “That is why he has been moving round the state, talking to party leaders and opinion leaders on how to approach the political battle to ensure victory for our party,” an aide of the Senate President, a former Commissioner, said. Mark, Governor Gabriel Suswam and Mike Mku have picked the PDP’s ticket to contest the 2015 general elections in their respective senatorial zones in Benue. Mark had represented the senatorial district, comprising Otukpo, Okpokwu, Ado, Ogbadibo, Agatu, Oju, Obi, Ohimini and Apa local government councils at the senate for 16 years. The party has also nominated Terhemen Tarzoor as its gubernatorial candidate ahead of governorship election next year. However, a leading PDP chieftain and former Minister of Trade, Investment and Industry, Chief Samuel Ortom emerged as APC governorship candidate. Chief Ortom emerged after other governorship aspirants stepped down for him at the end of a closed door meeting brokered by the senate minority leader, Senator George Akume, in Makurdi. APC governorship aspirants who stepped down for Chief Ortom are Mike Iordye, Akange Audu and Emmanuel Jime. Chief Ortom will now face PDP candidate Terhemen Tarzor in the general elections. Also, a former National Chairman of the PDP and BOT member, Chief Barnabas Gemade, joined the opposition party. Gemade, who also picked the Benue North-East senatorial ticket will square up with Governor Gabriel Suswam in the 2015 senatorial election. Gemade defected to the APC to contest the election after he was forced to leave the PDP owing to the desire of Governor Gabriel Suswam to pick the Benue North-East PDP senatorial ticket, where Gemade currently represents at the National Assembly. The deputy governor of the state, Chief Steven Lawani, who lost the PDP governorship ticket in the primaries, is alleged by sources to be one of those plotting to defect to the opposition party. Lawani’s anger stems from the fact that he was denied the governorship ticket. “There is serious anger in the camp of the deputy governor. This anger is as a result of the feeling that denying him the ticket has denied the Idoma people the opportunity to fulfill their aspiration to rule the state. This is a serious concern for Mark who is scared of not only losing the general election but losing at his base, the Idoma nation. He is working round the clock and talking to all stakeholders to avert what he considers a political calamity should Benue fall into the hands of the opposition party. Recently, he led a powerful delegation of Idoma PDP leaders to meet with traditional rulers. That was after Gemade left the party. He is determined to minimise the effect of the former PDP national chairman’s exit to the APC on the 2015 general election,” a source told The Nation. There are also talks of a planned mass defection of more leaders and members of the PDP, especially aspirants that lost tickets in the just concluded primaries of the party, during or immediately after the yuletide. This explains the recent serious fracas in the Benue State House of Assembly when a lawmaker announced his defection from the ruling PDP to the opposition APC. The move by the defecting lawmaker was read by the government as a sign of worse things to come. The defecting lawmaker, Mr. Baba Odeh, is representing Otukpo/Akpa State Constituency. Joe Ikyaagba was the founding National Organising Secretary of the defunct All Peoples Party (APP), which later became the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). Speaking on the fear of the ruling party ahead of the next election, Ikyaagba said there would be no hiding place for Mark and his party in 2015. “It is on record that the real party in Benue State with grassroots support has never been the PDP. I am aware and anybody who has been around can testify to that. If you can understand the feelings of several Benue indigenes, their excitement about the new platform, then it will be very easy for one to point to the possibility of the APC winning in Benue State. “To get a ruling party out of the way, one needs to really push because we are very conscious of the fact that the ruling party could deploy government apparatus to advance its chances. However, the situation in several other states where the PDP has been defeated gives us hope that in Benue too, we can make it. The cloud is getting thicker here as you can see and I do believe we are going to make it this time,” he said. The politician added that it would not be difficult to neutralise the Senate President’s influence during the election. “I don’t think that will be a big deal. This is the first time that you are having all the opposition parties come together to provide a viable alternative not just at the national level but also in Benue State. That is the first reason the opposition is going to work in Benue this time around. Secondly, I am not the only person that was dissatisfied with the oppression of the PDP. There are many of them waiting for the right time to decamp to the APC and that will be a major blow to the PDP in Benue State. I am conscious of that and I know where all the bones are buried. By the time we get the right people out of the PDP to support the only robust mass movement of the APC, it will be quite certain that this time the APC will win landslide over and above the PDP,” he added. Source:THE NATION
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 06:14:37 +0000
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