By Kolawole Ojebisi
Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue has described his predecessor’s claim that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will wrest the reins of power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state come 2027 as “laughable ambition”.
Alia’s said this on Tuesday while speaking through his Technical Adviser on Media and Publicity and Strategy, Solomon Iorpev.
Alia’s comment was prompted by a remark by Samuel Ortom, the immediate governor of the state, earlier on Tuesday.
Ortom had expressed confidence that the opposition PDP will reclaim power and start calling the shots again in Benue in 2007 while addressing members of the G14 group, who paid him a courtesy visit at his Makurdi residence on Tuesday.
The immediate past governor urged the group to bury the hatchet and settle their grievances as the party can only win elections by having a common and united front.
“I encourage you to remain loyal to the party and put past grievances behind you. Now is the time to work harder than ever before and bring back those who want to rejoin us. Many people are eager to return to the party. Let us start a new journey, and with God on our side, we will reclaim power in 2027,” Ortom said.
The G14 comprises PDP elders from the 14 local government areas of Tiv extraction.
The group has been embroiled in internal disputes, with former governor Gabriel Suswam, a co-founder of the group, recently announcing its disbandment due to perceived closeness to his successor, Ortom.
Reacting to Suswan’s directive to the group, Ortom dismissed his predecessor’s order as empty and irrelevant as no individual has the exclusive right to decide the fate of the group. The former governor affirmed his support for the group.
“As the leader of the party in the state, I will continue to support the group. Let me emphasize this: no one has the right to disband this group,” Ortom said.
Meanwhile, reacting to Ortom’s speech during the G-15 visit to his residence, the incumbent governor’s adviser, Solomon Iorpev, said the hope of the PDP reclaiming power in the state is a mere pipe dream.
Iorpev said that PDP is not only rocked by internal wranglings and divisiveness, he stressed that the opposition party is also a spent force in the state.
According to Iorpev, it will take the party three or four decades to have the reins of power in the state.
Iorpev noted that Governor Alia’s achievements are unsurpassed and they are enough for campaign that will drag the opposition party to political oblivion for years in the state.
“It’s a laughable ambition because with what the governor is doing, it will take another 30 to 40 years for the PDP to even dream about coming close to power in the state,” Iorpev said.
“No governor has achieved what His Excellency Hyacinth Alia has done in all spheres of governance. Nobody would want to set aside such an achiever and opt for a party that is divided. A party where one of its leaders campaigned for the Labour Party—how do you expect such a party to unite?”
“Who is left in the PDP to canvass for votes in 2027? What is their pedigree to make the party return to power? It’s a laughable ambition,” he maintained.
