January 01, (THEWILL) — A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and contender for Benue North East senatorial district, Barr Douglas Pepe, has advised his kinsmen to place the senatorial ambition above the governorship seat ahead of the 2027 general election.
He said since 1999, all the governors Benue has produced have had two terms in office each, and it will look somewhat if the present governor, Hyacinth Iormem Alia, is denied the opportunity of having two terms.
“It will not be in the spirit of fairness to him and the Jerchira political block where Alia comes from. This governor, who is in the seat now, is working. We are seeing evidence of good work in areas of infrastructure and economic development. He is reviving industries and building new ones, where the state had an advantage in the past, but the companies were sold out”, Pepe stated.
The Benue North East senatorial hopeful noted that in such areas, the governor has tried and by the matrix of performance, he merit second term in office to consolidate on the gains posted so far.
“There is another reason, which is to say it will amount to a waste of resources if we, the Kwande people, begin to fight an incumbent governor. We will waste resources, goodwill, historical relationships and a lot of political leverage that we have built over the years”, Pepe declared.
According to the legal luminary, losing the 2027 fight against the incumbent will not only be disastrous, but he will not be party to leading people into what amounts to rebellion.
He posited that, having reflected on how he is going to be affected by political power, and have come to the conclusion that the morality that one has grown up with is not easy to jettison.
“I believe the course of my life is already set. If it is money, I have had the opportunity to make money in dubious ways but have turned them down. I have never taken a bribe in my practice of law, and the easiest way to make money in the practice is to take a bribe, to sell your client’s case, and I resisted those temptations on numerous occasions”, he said.
Responding to a question, Pepe explained that his mission for seeking for Benue North East senatorial seat is borne out of the agitations by his people, the Kwande bloc, the zone made up of Jerchira and Sankera.
He stated that since the return of democracy in 1999, Kwande has not been opportune to occupy the position of senate, saying Kwande won’t loan the seat anymore to either Jerchira or Sankera blocs.
Pepe, therefore, called on political stakeholders in the senatorial district to consider his ambition based on merit and competence, promising not to disappoint his constituents if eventually voted into the Senate.
