By Akinwale Kasali

A former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswan, has lost his Senatorial seat.

Suswan,  PDP, representing Benue North Senatoral District, was sacked from the Senate by the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, November 1st, 2023.

The Appellate Court, in a unanimous ruling by the three members of the Panel said Suswan did not win the election to the Senate conducted on February 25, 2023. It faulted the National Assembly Election Petition Court, Benue, for sacking Emmanuel Udende, APC, declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in favour of Suswan.

Said the Judges: “The judgement of the Tribunal delivered on 8/9/2023 is hereby set aside.

“The return of the Appellant as the winner of the Benue North East Senatorial District that was held on February 25 is hereby affirmed.

“Parties are to bear their respective cost.”

When INEC declared Udende winner, it said he defeated Suswan by polling 135, 573 votes to Suswan’s 112, 231 votes.

But Suswan went to Court and  pleaded that the exercise was marred by over-voting, irregularities, alterations and falsification of results. The lower Court agreed with him that there were irregularities in five out of seven LGAs. The Tribunal  went ahead to cancel 51,895 votes entered for Udende and 21,229 entered for Suswan.

The Court of Appeal upturned all that in its ruling on Udende’s appeal.

By Ayodele Oni

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue state has accused Governor Hyacinth Alia of victimizing perceived enemies of his administration with his latest decision to stop monthly stipends for pensioners.

The affected pensioners were said to have obtained garnishee order from the Court against the administration.

The State Chapter of the PDP in a statement claimed that “It has come to the attention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State that Governor Hyacinth Alia has threatened to remove from the pay-roll names of pensioners who have obtained garnishee orders from courts against his government.”

The statement, signed by Bemgba Iortyom

State Publicity Secretary, said “This threat of the governor, PDP learnt, was issued through his Commissioner of Justice and Public Order, Barr. Fidelis Mnyim, during a meeting with pensioners in Makurdi.

“We recall that only a few days back medical students of the Benue State University, Makurdi who had gone to Government House to peacefully air their grievances to the governor were allegedly brutalized by suspected thugs and subsequently suspended by the university authority.

“PDP firstly establishes that the protests and agitations springing across the state are largely the result of frustrations arising from the myriad of promises Governor Alia made to the people during the campaigns to turn their conditions to ‘Heaven on earth’ within just a 100 days in office.

“His threat against those elderly pensioners and the suppression of the medical students are, therefore, not only unjust and tactless, but never before witnessed in Benue, not even under military rule. since the state’s creation.

“Protests and agitations are rights of citizens which are enshrined in law and previous governors of the state handled them through civil negotiations and where the courts intervened, their judgements were complied with by the government.

“PDP is aware that students in the 90s under the aegis of the National Union of Benue State Students (NUBESS) had successfully resisted attempts by the military government to scrap the annual bursary allowance to them, and this was achieved through protests and negotiations with the then Military Administrator.

“The party also recalls that both George Akume and Gabriel Suswam during their separate times as governor had to go to the BSU campus to address protesting students who demanded to see them over their grievances.

“The garnishee orders which have drawn threat from Governor Alia were also secured against previous administrations in the state, including that of Samuel Ortom but none resorted to anger and threats.

“PDP cautions Governor Alia to refrain from intolerance and high handedness against citizens who are exercising their lawful rights in protesting against his failure to fulfill the promises he made to them during the campaigns.

“Rather than throw fits of anger and issue threats, the governor should soberly reflect over those promises he made during the campaigns, and seek forgiveness for his inability to fulfill them, as well as ask for more time.

By Ayodele Oni

The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Governors  Forum has faulted the judgement of the Supreme Court which validated the election of President Bola Tinubu.

The Governors from the opposition party who met in Abuja Tuesday night accused the Judiciary of double standards in handling various election petition cases.

In a communique issued at the end of its meeting, the Forum expressed concern that “while the Supreme Court has laid down precedents on pre-election issues, PDP candidates in Plateau State are being disqualified on the same grounds.”

The communiqué read by the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum Senator Bala Mohammed, urged “the Judiciary at the apex level to ensure that our jurisprudence is not distorted.

“As a Forum, we believe and re-state our faith and confidence in the judiciary to do justice in political and other cases before the Courts.”

Mohammed, who is also the Governor of Bauchi State, condemned the attempted impeachment of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, and expressed the Forum’s readiness “for a quick and just containment of the issues involved.”

He, however, welcomed the intervention of President Tinubu to bring the crises to an end.

Governor Mohammed pledged the determination of the PDP governors to remain vigilant in the struggle for democracy and good governance in the country.

He assured that the party would be repositioned and strengthened “as a viable opposition political party ready and willing to play its role as the vanguard of the Nigerian people for democracy, good governance and accountability.”

He called on the Federal Government to stabilize the naira, control inflation, stem the unemployment crises, and bring more assistance to Nigerians.

The National Working Committee (NWC) had earlier in a statement called on all actors and their supporters in the attempt to impeach the Rivers State governor, to sheathe their swords and allow for the peaceful and amicable resolution of all the issues.

The party in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, said it has activated its internal conflict resolution mechanisms to ensure that all matters and areas of disagreement are addressed.

It urged PDP leaders, critical stakeholders and members of the party in Rivers State to close ranks, unite and focus on the task of governance and delivery of dividends of democracy to the people.

The PDP governors’ meeting, which was the third since the new government’s inauguration last May, was attended by 10 governors and the deputy governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ossai.

The embattled Rivers State governor Siminalayi Fubara, who incidentally is the Vice Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, attended the meeting for the first time.