Ex-minister, Sam Ode, interacts with Benue APC stakeholders in Minda

FORMER Minister of State, Niger Delta Affairs, Hon. Sam Ode, last Thursday, 10th of June, 2021 consulted with APC stakeholders in MINDA at City Bay Park in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

Hon. Sam Ode, a leading APC governorship aspirant in Benue State who spoke in Tiv appreciated MINDA people for giving him the opportunity to interact with them and solicit their blessings for his governorship ambition. “I come before you to seek your blessings and endorsement in order to contest and win the 2023 governorship election in Benue State”, he said, adding that when he becomes the governor of the State he would surely remember the people of MINDA.

He further said MINDA is a highly priced bride in the political equation of Benue State and when they stand for him, together with other parts of Benue, he would secure the APC governorship ticket and also, be elected as Governor of the State in 2023.

Hon. Ode said he had enjoyed tremendous support from MINDA in 2019 when they overwhelmingly supported him to emerge as running mate to their son, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime who was the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The board chairman, TheNigerian News Group, also appealed to MINDA to consider the cries of Zone C people of Benue South who have never tested the governorship of the State since its creation in 1976. He was however, optimistic that when it is time to pick one aspirant from Zone C, MINDA people would go for Sam Ode, their long standing political ally.

Speaking separately at the occasion, Hon. Hinga Biem, Hon. Dr. Stephen Tsav, Sir Felix Gbillah and Hon. Fidelis Audu who spoke on behalf of Gwer-East, Guma, Gwer-West and Makurdi local government areas respectively, all gave their blessings and support to the governorship aspiration of Hon. Sam Ode whom they described as a broadminded, experienced, energetic and intelligent politician. They added that Sam Ode had comparative advantage over other aspirants from Zone C and by extension, the entire aspirants from Benue State because he is the only contender in the governorship race that speaks both Idoma and Tiv fluently and had his genealogy firmly rooted in both tribes.

The prominent politicians who spoke on behalf of the four local government areas also emphasized the fact that Sam Ode, who is a familiar face to MINDA sons and daughters, gave unflinching support to their son, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime, the APC governorship candidate during the 2019 general elections.

Members of the former Cabinet Minister’s entourage that accompanied him to the event include the Director-General of Sam Ode Campaign Team, Hon. Manasseh Akperashi, political elders, directors and coordinators in the Campaign as well as his teeming supporters.