2023: Labour Party And SDP Form Alliance In Benue

By Mohammed Oluwatimileyin Taoheed

The Benue State chapters of the Labour Party (LP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) have gone into an alliance in a bid to get set for the forthcoming 2023 presidential elections.

When reached, the SDP Chairman in Benue, Mr. John Enemari told TrackNews Nigeria that the formation is to garner the support for the Labour Party to bring good governance and bring back the lost socioeconomic fortunes of Benue State.

The SDP Chairman spoke at a press conference held in Makurdi, he maintained that the choice of Hon. Herman Hembe as the Labour party’s gubernatorial candidate in the state was a godly mandate that deserves support of all Benue citizens to ensure the desired Benue of their dreams is actualised.

He noted: “The man that is coming is a young man that has done very well in his constituency. This is his fourth time at the National Assembly and he has proven that he can take Benue to the greater level of development”.

However, he blamed that the scuffle at the national level has destabilised the SDP in all the states of the federation which led to factions in the party while adding that it was time for the state chapters of the party to design their posterity with their hands.

Mr. Mohammed Oluwatimileyin Taoheed, our Correspondent, says that Enemari accused the national leadership of the SDP of embezzling several millions of naira gathered from aspirants in the build-up to the 2019 general election.

“We can not continue to suffer for them at the national office; the national office ripped close to N100 million from the Benue SDP in 2018 but no kobo was sent to us to work for the party.

“By the Party’s constitution, we were supposed to get not less than N75 million from the sales of forms in accordance with the Section 72(2), but these people in Abuja sat on it.

“In a party, if you don’t win election, what do you do? Now they are in court and we want them to continue.

Benue is not a revenue-yielding state for them. Benue now needs good governance, we can not remain idle, we must work with those with integrity to deliver the state,” Enemari stressed.

According to Hon. Heman Hembe, the governorship candidate of the Labour party, he appreciated the efforts of the SDP for the decision and commented that the alliance was a strong ground for the Labour party to take the mantle of leadership from the PDP in Benue State.