Member representing Otukpo/Akpa State Constituency at the Benue State House of Assembly, Mr. Kennedy Angbo, has urged his brothers and sisters from the Idoma axis of Benue State aspiring to run for Governor in 2027 to shelve their ambition and wait for a more opportune time.
The reason, according to him, is that the incumbent Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia from the majority Tiv-speaking part of the State, is unlikely to shelve his second-term ambition in order to promote the governorship ambition of the Idoma for the sake of equity and fairness in Benue politics.
Daily Query reports the Idoma-speaking people of Benue State are found in the Benue South Senatorial District.
In a realism-trumps-idealism kind of chat with newsmen at his residence in Makurdi on Wednesday – yesterday, February 12 – Angbo contended that it is not ripe for an Idoma man to become Governor in 2027 when the present Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia has not finished his second tenure.
The lawmaker, who won on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), stated categorically that he will not work for or endorse an Idoma Governor for 2027, advising his brothers from the Idoma axis who might be nursing the ambition of running for Governor with the incumbent Governor in 2027 to have a rethink.
He stressed that for peaceful transitions to take place in Benue politics, it is always advisable to allow someone to do a second term or a zone to complete its second term.
“It’s not stated, it’s not written anywhere that a sitting Governor must serve eight years but I, Angbo Kennedy representing Otukpo/Akpa, will not endorse another person besides the Governor for 2027. That’s emphatic. I will not negotiate with another person,” he said.
Reiterating the propriety of asking the Idoma to wait till 2031, the lawmaker said: “I was a big advocate and member of the Benue Rebirth Movement (BRM) and a lot of other political fora that advocated and canvassed Idoma governorship. However, we lost that opportunity.
“I will not in the middle of this administration say Idoma should be given that shot again. My projection will be 2031 and guess what, I may be the person who will take that shot. So, you now see why maybe I would not like to push further.
“So, we will wait till that time that I may have had a lot of experience with which to push for governor of the state, comes.
“What some of us are thinking is that, maybe we should make this as a law and look out for that in the near future when we will have to rotate power in the three senatorial districts of the state.”
