Benue 2027: Uphold Zoning Principle for Stability, Inclusion — Jechira PDP Urges Party Leaders …Demands Completion of 8-Year Tenure

By Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi

As preparations intensify ahead of the 2027 governorship elections in Benue State, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders from the Jechira Intermediate Area have called on the party’s leadership to uphold the zoning principle that has long promoted political stability and inclusiveness in the state.

The group, comprising members from Vandeikya and Konshisha Local Government Areas, made the appeal in a communiqué issued at the end of their meeting held in Makurdi on Saturday. The communiqué was read by former Commissioner for Education, Sarwuan Tarnongu.

According to Tarnongu, the call was not based on entitlement but on the principles of fairness, balance, and adherence to established precedent.

He explained: “We, the PDP stakeholders from the Jechira Intermediate Area, as loyal party members and sons and daughters of Benue State, reaffirm our commitment to the state’s development. We remain devoted to its unity, equity, and progress, and consider the issue of zoning the 2027 governorship seat as critical to Benue’s political stability.”

Tarnongu emphasized that zoning in Benue politics has been an unwritten yet respected agreement that promotes fairness, mutual respect, and inclusivity among the various intermediate blocs. Over the years, he noted, it has helped preserve harmony within the Tiv political family and among other ethnic groups in the state.

“Historically,” he said, “the governorship seat within the Tiv axis has rotated among the intermediate areas — Kwande, Jemgbagh, Sankera, MINDA, and now Jechira. The arrangement allows each bloc to hold the position for a full eight-year period to ensure continuity and meaningful development.”

He pointed out that the 2023 governorship election rightly produced Governor Hyacinth Alia from Vandeikya in Jechira, affirming that while every governor has a constitutional right to a four-year renewable term, the zoning principle anticipates an eight-year tenure for the benefiting area.

“This means that if a sitting governor underperforms,” Tarnongu explained, “the people of the same intermediate bloc reserve the right to present another candidate from within to complete the eight-year cycle. This ensures that an entire bloc is not denied its fair turn due to the shortcomings of one individual.”

He further stressed that Jechira should be allowed to retain the governorship slot in 2027 to complete its rightful eight-year cycle in line with established political tradition.

Acknowledging the aspirations of the Kwande bloc, which has begun agitating for the governorship, Tarnongu urged them to consider fairness and historical precedence. “Kwande has already produced a two-term governor in the late Aper Aku. Jechira, on the other hand, has only had a truncated, non-democratic experience under Governor Moses Adasu, whose tenure lasted less than two years before the 1993 military intervention.”

He added that Jechira’s case remains unique since Adasu’s tenure was later ruled as not part of Nigeria’s recognized democratic timeline, leaving the bloc without a full democratic opportunity to serve its turn.

The communiqué reaffirmed Jechira PDP’s loyalty to the party, urging aspirants from the area to sustain their ambitions and consult widely with stakeholders to strengthen the call for completing the eight-year tenure.

“Our appeal is not based on privilege but on justice and equity. Jechira has waited patiently and earned its chance. It deserves to complete its turn,” Tarnongu stated.

The stakeholders also passed a vote of confidence in the leader of the PDP in the state and immediate past governor, Chief Samuel Ortom, and reaffirmed their support for the State Chairman, Rt. Hon. Ezekiel Adaji, the State Working Committee, and all members and supporters of the party within and beyond Jechira for their steadfastness and commitment to the PDP’s ideals.