Benue Guber race: Idomas watch as spectators as two Tiv brothers Ortom, Tarzoor go to ‘war’

Benue State, the nation’s acclaimed ‘food basket’ would in less than 24 hours witness a pulsating battle for its soul.
The battle over who takes over the baton of leadership from Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State come May 29 is at its apogee. The stage is now set for the future of its people to be decided. A winner will indeed emerge to pilot the ship of the state till 2019 at the dawn of Saturday.
In fact, the accurate choice of the Benue people is paramount this time around as they currently battle a devastated economy under ‘wheeling stool’ of the outgoing Governor, Gabriel Suswam who recently lost in the bid to conquer the Senatorial seat of his zone.

 Interestingly, the election will be coloured by rivalries between two brothers, former speaker of Benue State House of Assembly, Prince Terhemen Tarzoor, representing the Peoples Democratic Party and his Tiv brother, Samuel Ortom, a former Minister of the Federal Republic. Both men are from Benue Zone B senatorial district.

This contest is literarily a repetition of 2011 election where two Tivs also slugged it out in the final as Steve Ugbah’s efforts to unseat the the incumbent Governor, Gabriel Suswam could not take fire across the bridge. Suswam won the controversial election with a ‘clear’ margin.
In the same election, Idoma, the second largest ethnic group in the state voted overwhelmingly for Governor Suswam who had promised to handover to an Idoma man in 2015 after 38 years.
It became crystal clear that it was an empty promise after Suswam anointed Tarzoor as his successor, claiming that God gave him the instruction to do so in December 2014.
With this, the stage is once again set for another two Tiv brothers to test their political muscles.

HOW THEY STAND
Terhemen Tarzoor (PDP)
Political analysts believe that it would only take a serious miracle for the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Terhemen Tarzor to win tomorrow’s contest.
The possibility of Tarzor’s victory in the race is in a dark cloud because of some issues hanging around the neck of his godfather and political mentor, Suswam.
For the PDP gubernatorial standard bearer, the thrust of the battle is in Zone C , which is the Idoma terrain. Some of the indigenes have complained of marginalization in the state and with the emergence of their in-law, Ortom as the APC governorship candidate, it may be difficult for anyone presented by he Governor.

Some key political players in the area have insisted that the zone has been expunged from the scheme of things in the state, especially the way Suswam tricked them in 2011 to get their support with the promise of handing over to an Idoma man in 2015.
However, Tarzoor also shot himself when he told a gathering of some young Benue indigenes that they should vote for him so he could continue and consolidate on his master’s (Suswam) legacies.
However, a check by this newspaper shows that governor Suswam has been in a hot palm over his inability to pay workers’ salaries for more than six months.
He was also accused of slashing their salaries by 50 per cent. We gathered that the Governor refused to pay teachers in the state, thereby putting all tertiary institutions under lock and keys for months. These actions have become his greatest undoing as Benue people move to make a choice this Saturday.

Another thing that may likely work against the Suswam’s team is that, Tarzoor was humiliated as Speaker of the state House of Assembly after he was removed follwoing a judicial pronouncement. The Court of Appeal in the State held that he was not validly elected. The court later directed that the Certificate of Return issued to him by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be withdrawn and issued to Hon. Avine Agbum of the now rested Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
Since then, Tarzoor went into hiding until ‘God’ directed Suswam to pick him as his successor. His impeachment had since put his character in serious doubt; hence majority of Benue people will be looking at this while marching to the various polling booths across the state.

Tarzoor may also find it difficult to overrun Ortom following the emergence of Gen. Buhari of the APC as the President -Elect as well as Suswam’s failure to grab the senate seat.
On the other hand, beside the support of the governor who would be using his incumbency powers in favour of his candidate; Tarzoor, is also banking on the support of the Senate President, David Mark, an indigene of the state and the influential paramount ruler of the Tiv, Dr. Alfred Akawe Torkula, to defeat Ortom.
But with the recent mass defection of PDP members to the APC in the state, things have really fallen apart for the anointed one (Tarzor).

Samuel Ortom (APC)
Political observers see Ortom as a household name in Benue politics, even though he may have certain things working against his ambition. Ortom has served in different capacities in the nation’s political terrain. He was a former local government chairman in the state, former Secretary and Deputy Chairman of Benue PDP and former National Auditor of the party, Ortom also served as Director, Administration and Logistics, Goodluck-Sambo Campaign Organisation and Director of Organisation, Suswam/Lawani Campaign Organisation, which efforts brought the present government into office in Benue State.

Ortom’s deep knowledge of the inner workings in the PDP, analysts posit, would come in handy at this point in time.
The relative strength of the APC in the state, which boasts of a serving senator, George Akume and some members in the state and National Assembly, and further boosted by the defection of Senator Barnabas Gemade, a former PDP National Chairman who recently floored the incumbent governor to pick a second term ticket in the Senate, are clear indications that the outcome of the Benue governorship election would be too difficult to predict.
Some people of Zone C origin see the election as a payback time for Governor Suswam who deceived them with the promise of making an Idoma man governor of the state after almost 40 years. Ortom has been getting the support of the Benue South and the same feat might be re-enacted during the election slated for tomorrow.

However, Ortom will still need to fight through his nose to overcome Tarzoor who is being backed by the incumbent and the traditional ruler of Tiv kingdom.

Online poll
An online poll conducted in the state suggests that the All Progressives Congress, (APC) governorship candidate, Dr. Samuel Ortom will win the election.

The poll, which was conducted by a group known as Nigerian People’s Choice Opinion Poll, revealed that a total of 3,830 SMS votes were received from across the state.
At the end, Terhemen Tarzoor of PDP scored 1,083 SMS votes while Samuel Ortom of the APC scored 2947 SMS votes.

This however is not a sure-bet that the APC will carry the day as the incumbent is currently working around the clocks to ensure Ortom is not elected.

Only the person who satisfies the condition stipulated by the law and scores the highest vote would be declared winner.