PDP suspends Gabriel Suswam, four others in Benue

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has suspended former Governor Senator Gabriel Suswam, along with Terngu Tsegba, Richard Gbande, Terseer Tsumba, and Professor Nicholas Ada, for insubordination.

IDOMA VOICE reports that the party also suspended the chairmen of the PDP in Apa, Gboko, Gwer-East, Katsina-Ala, Konshisha, Logo, Otukpo, and Ukum local government areas.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the state’s Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom, announced that these individuals were summoned to appear before the State Working Committee (SWC) on Thursday at 10 a.m. to address charges of gross misconduct and anti-party activities.

Iortyom explained that the summons was an attempt to engage with the individuals at a preliminary stage to potentially avoid disciplinary measures. However, instead of responding positively to this conciliatory approach, they chose to defy the party’s authority by refusing to appear before the SWC, with some even publicly criticizing the party leadership.

The statement further noted that their actions violated Section 58 of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017). Consequently, they have been suspended from the party for one month and are required to appear before the party’s Disciplinary Committee at a date, time, and venue to be communicated to them.