Benue 2023: Why I’m the most suitable to take over from Ortom – Sam Odeh

Former Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs and All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship aspirant in Benue State, Dr. Sam Ode has said his pedigree, political experience and qualification stands him out as the aspirant to beat in the contest for the ticket of his party.

The APC stalwart who was the running mate of the Benue APC governorship candidate in the 2019 general elections made the assertion on Wednesday in Makurdi.

He stated that the number of aspirants on the platform of the party would not pose a threat to his aspiration stressing, “I believe that in the mix of all of these aspirants that we have in the APC, I have something very peculiar, something very special which stands me out as the aspirant to beat.

“In my recent engagement with the NUJ, I said I may not be the best for this season, but Sam Ode is the most suitable. And that assertion is anchored on the fact that you have a high breed aspirant in me.

“In this world, a geography of where you come from and how power is shared among the component parts of all these persuasions is something you cannot overlook.

“In this season, the preponderance of opinion in the state here and even beyond is that the people of Benue South Senatorial district where I come from should be given a chance to lead Benue after almost 46 years of the existence of the state. And so I see myself properly positioned to benefit from this agitation.

‘And the reason is that my origin cuts across the three senatorial districts of this state. My father is from Benue South, my mother is from Benue North East and my grandmother is from Benue North West. So I have my origin in the tripod upon which Benue stands.

“But I emphasized during my interaction with the NUJ that that in itself is not enough qualification for who should be governor of Benue state; it is only an advantage which I do not take for granted.

“For you to be governor of Benue state you must have the political experience, you must have the bureaucratic experience, you must have the intellectual preparation so that you use these tools of analysis to shape the framework of how you will govern the state.

“And I think that with all modesty, I have an abundance of these qualities waiting to be dispensed for the benefit of the people of Benue state.”

“I am not in this race for personal and self-aggrandizemen, it is purely on the need to serve, because I know that I possess the qualities, I possess the experience that will enable me deliver on the service to the people of Benue state.”