https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEs7R4pbI5E

Right from the second republic in 1979, the governorship race in Benue, like most states, has always been a two-horse race.

The fierce battle for who will become the first Executive Governor of Benue State between Aper Aku of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and Paul Unongo of the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP), which the former beat the later to, set a precedent of two-party dominance politics in the state.

And, this is not likely to change with the March 18th, 2023 governorship election as either of the two major contenders; Titus Uba of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is looking to take the day.

IDOMA VOICE observed that despite the recent surge of Peter Obi's Labour Party, the LP guber candidate in Benue State, Herman Hembe, would not alter the two-horse nature of governorship election in the state as the 'Obi effect' would no longer be there on the day of the governorship and State Assembly elections as it was with the presidential and National Assembly elections.

Political analysts predicted that, at best, Hembe will come a distant third, and at worst, he would finish behind popular minority party candidate, Dr. Matthias Oyigeya of the Accord Party.

Yes Father! - A Popularity Test?

Many were perplexed when a certain suspended Catholic Priest, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia defeated popular contenders like Senator Barnabas Gemade, Michael Aondoakaa (SAN), Chief Stephen Lawani, and other bigwigs to clinch the highly coveted All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket in Benue State in a controversial manner. But for those in the known, it was no surprise!

Before the disputed APC gubernatorial primaries, which adopted a highly controversial direct mode, words on the streets had it that Alia was being tipped by the leader of the party in the state, Sen. George Akume, and his wife, Regina Akume, to clinch the party's ticket.

Whether or not the speculations were correct or otherwise, one thing that can't be disputed is that Alia has a kind of magnetic pull - this is evident in how he quickly got himself endeared to the Benue people.

His growing popularity, anchored on the 'Yes Father' slogan, is unprecedented for a man making his first voyage into the murky waters of politics.

However, Alia is not the first priest to vie for the governorship in Benue State. The second executive governor of the state in the short-lived third republic, Fr. Moses Adasu, was also a Catholic priest. Alia is looking to walk in that shoes.

If the results of the presidential and National Assembly elections in the state, were anything to go by, then Alia and his supporters can get set to start "Alialuiah" to the Government House. But then again, the game of politics is like the game of football; anything can happen!

How Far Can Uba Go With The Dwindling Popularity of PDP?

Just as the sun is rising for the APC in Benue, it's almost like it's set for the PDP in the state. Despite this glaring reality, the Governorship Candidate of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Rt. Hon. Titus Uba can still find solace in the ruling status of the party in the state.

Since the creation of the state in 1976, the ruling party in the state has never lost a governorship election to the opposition except in 2015, when Samuel Ortom of the APC defeated Terhemen Tarzoor of the ruling PDP. Even at that, Governor Ortom later decamped to the PDP and won his reelection on the platform of the party in 2019.

But if the saying that history repeats itself is anything to hold onto, then we may find these ironies in the recent political history of Benue state and the present reality interesting: In 2015, Ortom, an acclaimed 'man of God' defeated the candidate of the ruling party to emerge governor.

This year, the candidate of the main opposition party is also an acclaimed clergy. In 2015, Ortom chose his running mate from Otukpo Local Government. This year, Alia also chose his running mate from the same local government. In 2015, Ortom was reportedly given the APC ticket by Akume. This year, the opposition party's candidate is rumored to be "anointed" by the Akumes.

Also, when the PDP lost in 2015, it had John Ngbede as its Deputy Governorship Candidate, this time again, it has fielded Ngbede as its Deputy Governorship Candidate.

But then again, history does not always repeat itself.

Also, analysts believe that the March 18th governorship would be a fight to finish since Governor Ortom (haven lost his senatorial election) would have only the victory of his party at the governorship poll to exact his political survival.

The PDP won just one senatorial seat and one House of Representatives seat in the National Assembly elections in the state.

It is expected that both Ortom, former governor Gabriel Suswan (who also lost his senatorial reelection bid), and Abba Moro (the only PDP senator elected from Benue) would work tooth and nail for their party's victory in the 18th March governorship election in their respective zones.

Particularly, Abba Moro's Zone C is forecast to vote massively for the PDP as it did in 2015 when the party lost. Uba would split Zone A&B's votes with Alia.

If the ruling party factor prevailed at the end of the day, then Uba and his supporters would be on their way to Government House.

But for now, only time can tell as no one can boldly predict which direction the pendulum will swing!