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By Joseph Adahnu, Yola
The Idoma extraction after consultation with the death and the living ancestral wise men has endorsed candidates from All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Benue State governorship aspirants.
The quest is contained in an Idoma Herald Newspapers that a Benue state Governor of Idoma extraction in 2023 has received a major boost as 22 wisemen representing the ancient 22 districts of Idoma nation arrived at a consensus candidate for the two top political parties in the state.
In a discreet meeting in Otukpo, the trado-political headquarters of Idoma nation, 22 respected wisemen of Zone C, drawn from the 22 districts of ancient Idoma Kingdom, named the immediate-past deputy governor of Benue state, Chief Stephen Lawani, as the consensus candidate for the Idoma nation in the All Progressives Congress (APC) while the current Deputy Governor, Engr Benson Abounu was named as the consensus candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Before arriving at this decision after several hours of deliberations, the wisemen noted that the Idoma nation must present their best materials if the yearnings of Idoma people to produce Benue state Governor in 2023 must be achieved. They hinted on the capacity of the selected candidates to win the primaries of their respective political platforms.
The group noted that,“We have carefully studied all the aspirants, weighed their chances, gauged their seriousness towards our collective dream as a people, consulted our ancestors, and arrived at this very important decision“, – the presiding wiseman declared after the meeting.
The Idoma further hinged their decision to arrive at a consensus on the need to avoid the past mistakes where the chances of the nation is jeopardized by multiple aspirants who go into the contest from the zone.
They recalled that, “in the 2007 PDP governorship primaries, Idoma sons came second, third and Fourth, and most recently in the 2014 Governorship primary of the PDP, Chief Stephen Lawani, an Idoma son came second, the third and fourth positions were also held by Idoma sons, observing that if the Idoma sons who came second, third and fourth had formed an alliance, the Idoma nation would have won the ticket of the party comfortably. The wisemen reiterated the need to avoid that miscalculation and go into the contest with a unified candidate in 2023.
In other to ensure rancour-free implementation of their decision, the 22 wisemen appointed a Nine-man action committee to immediately meet with the other aspirants to prevail on them to drop their aspirations in the interest of the Idoma nation.
The nine selected members will also be meeting with the leadership of BRM on their choice, to press home the need for the Idoma nation to go into the contest with their best materials to boost the chances of the Idoma nation in the 2023 Benue state governorship election.
In another development, a National coordinator, Benue Rebirth Movement, AVM Monday Morgan they argued in the state that five clans in Tiv land have taken their turn in leadership of Benue so any zone c son going for deputy governor will be sanctioned from Idoma at BRM mega rally.
Alleging that the former speaker in the state Assembly challenged zone c to stand against perpetual domination by the Tiv since creation, it is only a disappointing for the zone c extraction to support any Tiv aspirant, believing that such person should examine himself.
This is because, Benue is a Commonwealth for other tribes not for Tivs alone, they are waiting for any son who will come to betrayed them, he added.
