February 23, (THEWILL) – Arising from an expanded town hall meeting, the Benue Youth Forum (BYF) says it is solidly behind Governor Samuel Ortom’s endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, to emerge victorious at the polls.
It said only Peter Obi, is disposed to tackling the plethora of challenges facing the country and Benue in particular.
“We reiterate our support for Peter Obi’s candidature and make bold to say we are going out in our numbers come Saturday, February 25th, to cast our votes to give him the well-deserved mandate to drag Nigeria out of the abyss,” it said.
President of the group, Terrence Kuanum, in a statement in Makurdi, said BYF will mobilise its members across the state to participate actively in the 2023 elections and shall ensure that youths are not involved in any act of violence during the polls.
The Forum wants the political class to avoid any attempt at using the youth for violence as that would not be in the best interests of the system and peaceful elections.
While urging Benue people to go out and exercise their franchise responsibly without fear of molestation, the BYF advised security agencies and electoral officials to be professional in discharging their duties to enable people to make their choices and have their votes count, warning that any attempt to subvert the will of the people shall be resisted.
“We urge the people of Benue to shun other presidential candidates, especially Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who has on different occasions, justified the killings in Benue, alleging he has no intention of putting an end to the incessant massacre of the people if elected as president of the country,” he stated.
The BYF also called on Benue people to vote for Governor Ortom for the Benue North-West senatorial seat as well as other PDP candidates in the national assembly elections.
The Forum implores the electorates to beware of those who are romancing with enemies of the state and show their anger at the ballot by voting only those who are interested in the security and welfare of the people.
Speaking further, he said, “We also advise Benue people to shun those who have promised to cede our ancestral lands to Fulani herders. Vote Rt. Honourable Titus Uba of the PDP in the Governorship election and other candidates of the party for the House of Assembly polls come March 11, 2023.”
It noted that the 2023 general election is about the survival of the Benue people and the future of the country, saying they cannot fold their arms and watch people being misled into making mistakes that could cost the state more years of anguish.
“That is why we expect all to queue behind Governor Ortom, who has seen the light and is leading the state to the path where our penury shall be over,” he added.
According to Kuanum, BYF is convinced that Titus Uba is the right person for the 2023 Governorship of Benue State whom he said is already ahead of other governorship candidates in the race.
