Group condemns Benue PDP consensus option

An elite group known as, the Gyaikyor Seven Support Initiative on Wednesday called on the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State to rescind its decision of micro zoning governorship race to Vandeikya Local Government Area of the state.

The group which addressed newsmen at the state secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Makurdi on Wednesday called on PDP to throw open the race between Vandeikya and Konshisha, the two LGAs that make up the Jechira Bloc.

President of the association, Professor Gabriel Akume, warned against shutting the door on governorship aspirants from Konshisha LGA.

He said, “If the governorship position has been zoned to Jechira, it is important that the two local governments that make up Jechira be given equal opportunity to aspire to the position so that the best candidate can be produced.

“It would be only fair for Vandeikya to produce their best and Konshisha to also put forward their best candidate so that the best of the best candidate would win and Jechira will be the winner.

“Micro zoning of any sort without due process in the selection of governorship candidate for Jechira will not be accepted.”

Dismissing the argument in some quarters that Konshisha had once produced a governor of the state in the person of Fr Moses Adasu (1992-1993), the group said that the apex court in the country had ruled against counting the period of Fr Adasu as part of democratic government.

They said, “So far, the Jechira intermediate area of Kunav and Ikyor has not occupied the governorship position. Rev. Fr Moses Adasu who hailed from Konshisha which is part of Jechira was only part of the military transition programme which lasted for just over a year.

“The Supreme Court of Nigeria had adjudicated in this matter elsewhere that, transition programme should not be counted in the history of democratically elected governors in Nigeria.”

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