2023: Idoma moves to capture Benue governorship seat for the first time in 44 years

Communiqué of First Stakeholders meeting of the Benue Rebirth Movement, BRM, held on the 26th November, 2020 at the Leach Hotels, Otukpo, Benue State.

Preamble

The Benue Rebirth Movement was established on June 16, 2020 to strategize and articulate the position of the people of Zone C ahead of 2023 general elections. There is a general consensus among the people of Zone C that the Governorship position of Benue State should come to Zone C having being in rotation among Zones A and B since 1976 when the State was created.

It is in pursuance of this objective, that BRM initiated its first Stakeholders’ Meeting with the aim of setting an agenda for the realization of the main objective in 2023.

Participation at the event cut across the various segments and strata of the Zone which include, the Traditional Rulers, Clergymen, Retired Generals, Academics, Media Practitioners, Lawyers, Politicians, Medical Doctors, Engineers, Farmers, Women and Youth.

Resolutions

At the end of the day, BRM rose from the Meeting on the 26th November, 2020 with the following unanimous resolutions and wish to declare:

1. That since the creation of Benue State the Governorship position has eluded the people of Zone C thereby leading to political marginalization and its attendant consequences in the Zone. This situation has to be reversed in the interest of social justice, peace and fairness.
2. That the actualization of the position of Governor to Zone C of Benue State calls for unrelenting unity of purpose, commitment and dedication to the struggle by the people.
3. That the struggle for the Governorship position needs a strategic approach and sustained advocacy which should cut across Zones A B C.
4. That BRM is apolitical and does not have any allegiance to any political party or organization. Its sole purpose is to articulate and aggregate the aspirations and desires of the people of Zone C for the actualization of governorship to the Zone.
5. That the people of Zone C should not play the second fiddle and should not accept any position less than that of Governor of the State in the next political dispensation.
6. That BRM owned and be funded by the people; therefore citizen of the Zone is expected to contribute his or her quota into the purse of BRM through a sustained, transparent crowd funding system adopted the Movement.
7. That the people of Zone C should speak with one voice and avoid the penchant of pulling each other down by way of petitions or other sordid schemes of Pull- Down- Syndrome which would work against the main objective of the Movement.
8. That everybody, regardless of party affiliation, linguistic or religious background from the Zone, is entitled to vie for the position of Governor of Benue State.
9. That the youths who constitute an effective and critical segment of our people must be mobilized for the actualization of the Zone C aspiration.
10. That deliberate and conscious effort should be made by stakeholders to sensitize the people to massively register in the Voters registration exercise which will be conducted by INEC in preparation for the 2023 General Elections.
11. That media activities and campaign of BRM should be stepped up vigorously because the struggle of such nature is defined by aggressive mobilization from media of mass communications.

12 That pressure should be brought to bear at both state and national levels on all the political parties to cede the governorships slots to Zone C come 2023.

Signed:

Prof. Armstrong Adejo

(Member Communique Team)