September 16, (THEWILL) – The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Caretaker Committee in Benue State, Senator Napoleon Bali speaks with UKANDI ODEY on the political situation in Benue and the Plateau PDP post congresses. Excerpts:
You are the Chairman of the PDP caretaker committee in Benue State. How has it been so far?
Very interesting. Politics in this part of the world is a winner-takes-all game. There are three major political leaders in Benue State and everyone wants to take the party structure, instead of remaining in their zone. Benue State has three zones: Zone A, Zone B, and Zone C. I inherited a situation where former Governor Gabriel Suswam is in Zone A, former Governor Ortom is in Zone B and Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro is in Zone C. These leaders are expected to have full control of their zones during the congresses; but things didn’t turn out that way. There were accusations, which led to the dissolution of the former state EXCO, and that’s how we came in as caretakers.
Our first task was to organise the local government congresses. However, there were challenges, as there were several litigations from the ward congresses. The court ordered that no local government congresses should be conducted in seven areas; so, we conducted them in the remaining 17. Even then, there were accusations and counter-accusations. The electoral panel from Abuja managed to create a manageable environment and deployed materials to the 17 areas, but problems arose again. The chairman of the panel left Makurdi without notifying me and took the collected results along with him.
Next, we faced the challenge of preparing for the local government council elections and PDP primaries. Benue State has scheduled local government elections for October 5, so we had to organize primaries for chairmen and councillors. I stood my grounds to ensure we followed the rules. Eventually, we conducted primaries across the 23 local government areas for over 200 councillorship candidates, and winners emerged. I’ve submitted the report to the national headquarters, and we expect them to approve the list today, September 4th, so we can submit it to the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission.
There have been many challenges; but I’m engaging stakeholders and planning an expanded meeting with at least five representatives from each local government area. The APC in Benue State is even more divided than the PDP there, with factions led by Akume and Governor Alia. This presents an opportunity for us.
How will you exploit the APC’s weaknesses and stabilise the PDP in Benue?
That’s what I’m preaching. We should be able to win the local government elections. Even if the APC wins, we can challenge the results in court. At the larger stage, if we unite our party, we can win the governorship and other seats. The challenge is getting all the political leaders to reconcile and engage one another. Some are willing, others are not. The main issue is distrust arising from the ward congresses conducted before I came in. I’ve made it clear that I didn’t midwife those congresses. We did our best with the local government congresses; but trust is still an issue. We’re working on it; and I have another meeting with key stakeholders like Suswam, Ortom, and Moro tomorrow (last Wednesday).
Considering that PDP lost Benue State to the APC during Ortom’s tenure, do you think you can bring these three leaders together?
That’s exactly why we’re working to reinvigorate the party. There’s bitterness about losing the state to the opposition, and some are accusing Ortom of anti-party activities. These are serious grievances; but if we unite now, those same leaders will benefit in 2027. I’m advocating for a give-and-take approach to resolving conflicts. We’ve already met as a group once; and I’ve had individual meetings with each of them several times.
You haven’t mentioned Senator David Mark, the former Senate President. Where does he stand in all this?
Senator Mark, the former National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, and other key leaders are in the background – encouraging me. They’ve been supportive. I consulted Senator Mark before taking on this role in Benue. We also have several members of the Board of Trustees in Benue State, and they’ve been quite helpful.
You’ve been working to bring peace to the PDP in Benue, but it seems there are unresolved issues within the PDP in your own Plateau State. How is the Plateau PDP’s post congresses?
That’s exactly why I’m here in Jos. I can’t be solving problems elsewhere while ignoring my home. There’s no perfect system; but let me tell you that the national headquarters has already approved the ward and local government Excos for the Plateau State PDP. The challenges now involve discouraging people from indulging in court litigations, as we don’t want a repeat of the situation in 2023 when the court sacked us. For now, we have our Excos and candidates in place, and even if there are litigations, I’m not aware of any.
What about the reported rift in Langtang between the SSG and other leaders? There are reports that the SSG wept after the local government party congresses.
I’m not aware of any such rift. The SSG and others, like Napoleon Bali, have their interests, just like any other stakeholder in the Southern Zone. The only place we’ve not conducted local government congresses is Shendam; but the national body is working on that. The process of reconciliation is ongoing, and the National Working Committee of the PDP has approved the lists for Plateau State. If anyone is unhappy, they can seek redress through the party’s internal appeal processes. As for the SSG crying, I’ll ask him when I meet him today, but I doubt it. He’s the engine room of the government and can’t be seen as unsupportive.
You are close to the Caleb Mutfwang Administration in Plateau. What’s your view on the implementation of Executive Order 003, which some say is being enforced too harshly, even in areas outside the metropolitan region?
The essence of Executive Order 003 is to ensure cleanliness and orderliness within the city. However, sometimes those enforcing it overreach, and the human aspect isn’t well-considered. For instance, the recent case where they were confiscating people’s goods in Bukuru Low-Cost – the governor wasn’t happy about that. But the order is here to stay, and people should learn to obey it. The governor is a godly man with human feelings, and where there are genuine concerns, I believe the government will review the policy. However, for now, the order stands, and those implementing it will face sanctions if they go beyond their brief.
