Why We Lost 2023 Governorship Election

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has explained the reason it was defeated in the 2023 governorship election by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a statement issued on Saturday, the party’s State Secretary, Comrade Dan Nyikwagh, said the PDP lost the election because its candidate, Titus Uba, was difficult to sell to the electorate.

According to him, “the most daunting task was marketing Titus Uba to the Benue populace—a man who could not convince his own kinsmen in a mock primary election, finishing a distant fourth.”

The statement was issued in response to comments made by Uba a few days earlier, where he claimed that the PDP abandoned him during his period of illness.

Uba made the remarks at an event in Ute, Vandeikya Local Government Area, shortly after dumping the PDP and defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Reacting to his comments, the PDP scribe stated that Uba received extensive medical assistance from the party, including treatment which cost about ₦300 million.

The party said, “For the record, Rt. Hon. Uba’s claim that no member of the PDP contacted him during his illness is utterly false. Either the former Speaker is suffering from a concerning memory lapse, or he is being deliberately mischievous.

“Let us remind him that he fell ill in 2022, and from that moment, the PDP, under the leadership of then-Governor Chief Samuel Ortom, did not abandon him. Chief Ortom ensured that he received the best care possible.

“He was first stabilised in Abuja and then flown to Germany for specialist treatment, an intervention that cost over ₦300 million.”

The party further recalled that arrangements were made for his overseas treatment and that a reception was organised upon his return.

Nyikwagh added that while Uba was away, some political actors attempted to replace him as the party’s governorship candidate on account of his health condition, but Chief Ortom resisted such moves and insisted he remained the party’s flagbearer.

He noted that this was after Ortom had previously supported Uba by securing his first party ticket under the APC, making him Speaker, returning him for a second term as Speaker, and backing his governorship bid.

The PDP also said that following the defeat in the 2023 election, it continued to support Uba during his legal challenge up to the Supreme Court in January 2024.

However, the party stated that Uba ceased active participation in party affairs after 2023, stopped attending meetings despite invitations, and discontinued all financial contributions.

It expressed surprise that Uba now openly praises Governor Hyacinth Alia simply because the governor provided him accommodation in Abuja, while ignoring what it described as years of support and sacrifice from Chief Ortom.

Nyikwagh stressed that the PDP is not a welfare body for private medical expenses, adding that after eight years in the House of Assembly, Uba received all entitlements due to him as a member and Speaker.