Former Governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Torwua Suswam, has described Governor Hyacinth Alia as the political father of the state. He added that all party members now seek the governor’s support.
Suswam stated that Governor Alia and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, have reconciled their differences. This followed a major APC stakeholders’ meeting at the State Government House in Makurdi.
“The governor is the political father of the state as of now, so everybody must seek the support of the governor,” Suswam said.
He continued: “So all of us are seeking the support of the governor. I thank God that I emerged victorious in the nomination process.
“It’s the APC party that I belong to. A few weeks ago, under the instrumentality of Mr President, all of us were called by the governor in Benue, including the SGF and stakeholders of APC in Benue, to the Government House.
“We held a very impressive reconciliation meeting. At the end of the meeting, both the governor and the SGF made statements to the people indicating that reconciliations have taken place.
“There is no divide in Benue as far as I know and am concerned.”
Suswam dismisses faction claims
Speaking about his victory in the APC senatorial primaries for Benue North East, Zone A, the former governor also dismissed claims of belonging to any faction within the state APC.
He added: “I was nominated and contested under the platform of the APC, not under the platform of the SGF or the governor.”
Recall that Suswam won the Benue North East Zone A APC Senatorial Primary election with 131,083 votes. He defeated his closest rival, incumbent Senator Emmanuel Memga Udende, in a keenly contested primary.
The election was conducted across seven local government areas: Katsina-Ala, Logo, Ukum, Konshisha, Vandeikya, Kwande and Ushongo.
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